Kingdom Fantasy
by Lunamonki
Summary: KH crossover. It all started with an innocent camping trip, which ended in it becoming a whole new world of adventure. A lot of OC, and plenty of new worlds to dive into. Join Sora and the others as they overcome new obstacles on their journey.
1. Camping Trip

**Disclaimer:** We don't own anything... 'cept the plot and the new Characters

**Warning/ Author's Note:** there wont be any KH till the third chapter. Also, the story for KH is a bit different due to all the characters that enter but it is pretty much the same. i hope you enjoy! and please review it would help greatly.

**Chapter I**

It was a brilliant, summer morning in July. The weather could not have been any more perfect – there was no hint of dark clouds covering the sky, nor any stray winds. The heat, though unbearable, could not prevent a young group of females from celebrating.

"Camping! Camping! We're gonna go -" chanted several teenage girls, but were cut off by one of the boys' shrill replies.

"Camping. Yeah, yeah we know. Calm down, ladies, please... I'm trying to read here," sighed a tall boy by the name of Eden. Admittedly not as quite as wild as his fellow peers accompanying him on his trip, he felt the need to say something before the shouting would get to his head. He was busy reading a book, while waiting to arrive to their desired destination: Ferris Beach. He, along with his friend, Raven, was only going to this trip for a project they had been assigned over the summer.

Raven studied his features of almost faked composure as he went back to his book. He was an asian boy with black, spiky hair, who, despite acting calm and collected, had a goofy side. "Stop spoiling our fun. Just because you're STIFF doesn't mean we all have to be," she scoffed. Eden just laughed and gave an apologetic look.

"But you know, we really should be focusing on that assignment..."

Raven ignored him as she continued conversing with the others. It was true: she put a high emphasis on her academia, but that didn't mean she couldn't have fun while doing it. She tightened the hair band of her rich, dark purple hair, twisted into a tight bun, only to be cut short from her thoughts by the shouts of the girl next to her.

"I wanna ~ SEE!" yelled the girl to Raven's side, otherwise known as Mizu. Hyperactive at best, she was the one who had started the crazy chanting to begin with. Mizu continued to make grabbing motions toward air, to which a boy named Dyne kept from her a book.

"Alya!" cried Dyne, tossing the book toward the seat in front of him.

The girl named Alya caught it, whilst still having her headphones on. "Why are you so secretive of your sketchbook, anyway, Dyne," asked Alya, looking at her best friend dubiously.

"Geez, who cares," she shrugged, as she opened the sketchbook and revealed several pieces of sketches with the flap of each page.

"Oh look, here I am." Indeed, Dyne had drawn Alya with her gleaming lime green hair with matching green eyes, sitting on a bench. "Alya, you traitor," uttered Dyne as the group praised his art.

"I know you're having fun guys, but we're almost there," said the mild- mannered Chase. Even more calm-headed than Eden, he paid close attention to their surroundings, to which their sleeping friend, oblivious of everything that was going on ground them, did not. That sleeping friend, Gizmo, woke up with a start as Mizu tugged at the book Dyne had just retrieved back from Alya, which had landed on his face.

"Wh-what's going on?" asked Gizmo, alarmed. As the book had been opened, all he could see was the black hue of a drawing. His friend, Luna, who was looking out the window, pulled the book off him. She laughed as he gave everyone a clueless look.

"Are we there yet?"

The girl sitting in the seat in front of them, shrugged. "Beats me.." she said, as she pulled the blue ribbon off of Luna's arm, tying it to her hair.

"You know, you should stick to those buttons of yours, before you 'accidentally' tie a knot in someone's hair," advised Chase, sitting to opposite seats from them.

"Yeah, Nova, I don't want to get an impromptu hair cut," agreed Luna.

"You just stick to those buttons of yours."

Nova frowned as she tied the ribbon back in its original place, originally put there by Mizu. It was a long and boring ride. The adolescence had been planning this trip all year. Luna herself had literally been adding things to her seemingly unlimited amount of space of a backpack, and with constant bickering with their parents, were able to go.

More page flipping ensued.

"Now here's one of Dyne." Mizu grinned, gaining possession of the book once more. Sure enough, showing a picture of a boy with brownish-blond hair revealing only one light green eye, as his hair had been pushed to one side.

"You look hot, Dyne," laughed Chase, pushing his midnight blue hair to one side in mock imitation Dyne. He covered one of his purple-blue eyes. Dyne groaned, looking defeated as the others chortled.

Laughing throughout the ride, the nine could not have foretold what fate was about meet them that day.

* * *

Thanks for reading!

-Lunamonki


	2. Settling In

**Chapter II**

In the midst of their thoughts, the bus had come to halt. As the bus slowed to a stop, the nine picked up their bags full of camping supplies (or well, in Luna's case, full of everything) and got off, reaching the shore of the beach. "Huzzah, we're finally here!" cried Raven happily.

"Let's not forget, our assignment…" said Eden, but even he too looked tempted to splash about in the depths of the water.

"Oh c'mon, just have some fun for a while," said Chase, splashing Raven with water. Raven replied by tossing bits of wet sand at him. Meanwhile, the others began to set up camp.

"Haaa~ I just can't wait to see Blaz again…" Sighed Alya, with a hint of wistfulness in her voice.

"Yeah, Yeah, Alya. We all know you have a thing for him." Teased Dyne. Alya reddened in embarrassment, as everyone softly laughed at her reactions.

"He said he'll be here later tonight or early tomorrow morning." Said Chase as his small chuckles subsided.

"Every camp needs campfire!" Mizu exclaimed suddenly, running off with Dyne and Alya to collect various brush around the shore.

"NOVA, how come you're not doing anything," scolded Luna, as she, Chase, and Gizmo began to unpack everything. Nova was in too much of a daze to hear her. They had arrived a little after noon, with the sun sparkling over their heads above them. A Ferris wheel was in the distance, as the beach was near a theme park. There were few people in their area, for they had tried to pick the most secluded spot possible. The spot happened to contain a lot of ocean debris – twigs, shells, and the like. She noticed a sparkling bottle heading toward shore, but as she approached it, Mizu had whacked her in the head with a stick.

"Luna says to pick up trash if you're not gonna do anything," said Raven, as she had already removed some of the debris. Nova nodded, looking for the bottle again – but she had lost sight of it.

Mizu burst out laughing as Chase, Eden, and Alya tried to put up a tent. "HAHAHA," chimed in Dyne.

"Can't you guys even put up a simple thing like a tent?"

Alya glared at Dyne.

"Oh shut up, like you can do any better Dyne." Mizu and Dyne looked at each other as they rose up.

"We're up for the challenge. In fact, I'm the ORACLE of putting up tents." Unfortunately, the tents' material landed on them, causing them to stumble backward on the shafts. Falling flat on their bottoms, Raven and Chase sighed. They, almost professionally, put the tents up, with assistance from Luna.

"PROS," Gizmo shouted admiringly. "Yeah, they should just make a sport out of it," said Eden, shaking his head at how frustrating it really was and how easily they made it look. "How do you guys know how to put up tents anyway?"

"Well, unlike you guys, we actually read the directions," said Chase, holding up a paper that had come with the tents' packaging. Mizu roared with more laughter.

"Mizu, you're a hyena," decided Nova, as she watched Mizu's bubblegum pink, pig-tailed hair become looser as she rolled about the ground from her mirth. Her purple eyes shown with utter glee as she threw another seashell at Nova's head.

"And you're a monkey," added Luna, as Nova held a banana from Luna's bag.

"ANYWAY," coughed Alya.

"So, we gonna chow down now, or what? I mean, look at how Nova's already started…"

"Yeah, and let's watch as Alya turn more green from eating veggies," said Dyne, looking inquisitively at his friend.

"Why'd you turn vegetarian again?" Raven, however, replied

"Cause she LOOOVES animals, duh. Go hug a tree or something, hippie." Nova, ignoring everyone's laughter at this retort, began opening Luna's large bag once more. "CANDY!" she exclaimed with success.

Luna pulled her away by the ear and told the others to watch her friend as she began sitting up the table, to which, surprising enough, could fit in her bag.

The sun was beginning to lower as each of their bellies were filled from the delicious fried rice and various other dished prepared by Luna. Before they knew it, the day was over, with the sun leaving the horizon. While Eden went to go observe the sea creatures that only come out at night at the opposite end of the beach for his project, the others went to bed. Raven stayed on her end, falling asleep from recording the data of a hermit crab.

Before closing her eyes, Luna glimpsed the bottle that Nova had seen earlier on the shoreline.

* * *

And that's a wrap~ :D

Thanks for reading!

~Lunamonki


	3. Strange New Place

**Disclaimer**: We don't own anything... 'cept the plot and the new Characters

**Chapter III**

Still pitch black, Gizmo awoke with a start. What was going on? The wind was rattling like crazy, and the waves beating steadily. The salt air filled his nose abruptly as lightning struck.

"GIZMO!" shouted Alya. She was awake too.

"We should tell the others to get up. We don't want them to wake up all wet." It was too late, though.

Nova awoke abruptly as water splashed on to her face.

"Wrgh..?" She looked about. Everyone else looked at the beach. Eden had not returned from his night assignment, while Alya and Gizmo ran toward them. Blaz following ,unknown to Alya and Gizmo, behind them, just having arrived.

"It's.. a tidal wave!" yelled Dyne, as the tidal wave quickly engulfed all of them before anyone could say another word. Engulfed in water, everything went black.

Luna opened her eyes, brushing her dark hair away from her face, leaving the silvery and dark blue strands in front of her. _Where is everyone? _It appeared that she was in a room made of complete wood. Facing her outside was a palm tree and wooden walkway leading somewhere. She looked around her as she pushed the blanket that lay on top of her torso away.

Chase stepped into the room as she pushed the blanket aside.

"Oh good, you're awake. I—everyone, was worried about you." Luna merely blinked. _What happened? Oh right, the tidal wave. _

"Where are we, Chase?" Luna asked, confused.

"I don't recall any of our tents looking like this from the inside." Chase studied her composure to make sure she was alright. Then, he replied,

"Step outside and take a look for yourself."

Luna, taking Chase's hand, walked outside. The sun shone as brightly as ever, as if there had never been a storm. As Chase led her down the wooden walkway to yet another beach, Mizu sprouted up in front of them.

"LUNA LUNA LUNA!"

"Uhh, hi Mizu.. where's everyone else?"

"They're helping Sora, Riku, and Kairi with their raft, c'mon," said Mizu, tugging Luna to the other end of the beach. _Sora, Riku, and Kairi…?_

As they walked along the beach, Luna observed that there was not much to this place. There stood yet another walkway to a lone island of palm trees, and on that lone isle stood a silver haired boy to which Luna never met before. His turqouise eyes met Luna's and smiled, as he began jumping about tree to tree, slashing at the air. "What's that guy doing?" Luna asked as they passed by.

"Oh, that's Riku. He finished collecting his stuff for the raft already, so he started training," Chase said, watching Luna's expression. She looked completely awed by his speed as he threw up rocks into the air and knocked each one unto the watery depths below, before it could hit the ground.

"See over there in the distance? Raven, Alya, and Dyne are collecting fish for the journey."

"What journey?" asked Luna, turning away from Riku's direction. Before Kiro could answer, however, he was interrupted by Gizmo's exclamation.

"Luna, you're awake," he sounded relieved.

"We were all so worried…" He continued to whack the tree they had passed by. "Yeah, I'm up," replied Luna cheerfully, as a coconut landed and almost hit Chase in the head.

Unknown to Gizmo, Mizu was slowly sneaking up behind him. Chase and Luna discreetly glances at her. Luna was about to say something, but seeing that Mizu was holding a finger to her lips, she kept quiet.

"Yah!" yelled Mizu as she jumped onto Gizmo, wrapping her legs around his torso, to keep him still as she fiddles around above. Craning around to the front a little, she grabs a hold of Gizmo's hat (while still on his head) and flicks open the little device that rest upon it.

"Oh~! It's a compass!" she exclaimed excitedly as she tapped on the glass.

"Yes it is. You could've just asked, yah know…" replied Gizmo, as he tried to keep his balance.

"But what's the fun in that?" the energetic girl closed the compass.

"I'm gonna help Gizmo while you take Luna to meet Sora and the others. See you," said Chase to Mizu, grabbing Gizmo's stick and looking ready to burst out laughing.

Jumping off of Gizmo, Mizu grabbed Luna's hand and started dashing toward the upcoming shoreline. "You just gotta see the raft!"

Nova looked up from tying the ropes of the logs together, forming the raft together. She waved. Two other people, of which Luna also did not know, appeared to be with her. They were, she presumed, to be Sora and Kairi.

"Oh, she's awake! Welcome back Mizu," said the girl with Nova. Her red hair, gleaming in the sunlight, reminded her of lava.

"Hi, I'm Kairi," she smiled, bowing her head as she tied the ends of the raft together. The raft was not quite big yet, but appeared sturdy as it loomed over the fives' heads. The brown spiky haired boy, looked up and grinned.

"I'm Sora. Welcome to Destiny Islands."

* * *

Thanks for reading!

-Lunamonki


	4. Message in a Bottle

**Disclaimer:** We don't own anything... 'cept the plot and the new Characters

**Chapter IV**

"Hi Kairi, Sora.. I'm Luna. Um, Nova, what exactly happened after the tidal wave," asked Luna. She could not hold it any longer. No one had given her a straight answer. Nova just laughed.

"Well, all I remember was that everything went black, and that we ended up here. Sora and his friends helped us up to their shack and tended to us until we woke up."

Sora nodded. "Yeah, we were worried something really bad had happened. After hearing Nova explain to us how you got here, that's when Riku just knew there were other worlds. You see, he's been doing a lot of thinking even before you got here, but now that you guys just came out of nowhere, we're all sure other worlds exist. We're making this raft here to take you guys back. You guys were at a beach, but this is a small island…"

"Raven said there is no Destiny Islands where you're all from, either, so that must mean you guys came from another world! Riku was already interested in exploring, but once he saw you landed, he couldn't help but be even more interested," added Kairi.

"Other then that, we're just as curious as you are as how you got here exactly. That must have been some tidal wave."

"Exactly," said Nova. "So, since we're here, we decided to help Sora, Riku, and Kairi with their raft. I think it may just get us back home."

Mizu chimed in. "Wait, you forgot one thing! The bottle that Nova found, with that weird message. It was carried here too."

"Oh yeah, that message," Nova nodded. She withdrew the bottle from her pocket and showed Luna the paper inside. Luna read:

Destinies collide tonight.

"What does it mean," asked Luna.

"No idea," Sora shrugged, dumbfounded.

"I wonder who sent it too, but nothing we can do now but work on the raft," said Nova.

"Maybe it was referring to last night…? I had a glimpse of the bottle just as I fell asleep…" Inquired Luna.

"That could be it. You guys did land here late night, early morning," agreed Kairi.

"And… it appears Eden and Blaz isn't with us either…" she trailed off. Luna frowned. "That's another reason why we're building this raft – to look for both of them. Let's hope they were as lucky as we were."

* * *

Thanks for reading!

-Lunamonki


	5. Developing Situations

**Disclaimer:** We don't own anything... 'cept the plot and the new Characters

**Chapter V**

"Anyway… since you're up now, would you like to help us prepare for our trip?" Kairi asked, smiling.

"Sure! What do I do?" Agreed Luna happily.

"I need you to go and collect some fresh water from the big waterfall at the other end of the island." Kairi answered as she gave a box full of empty bottles to Luna.

"Mkay." Luna replied smiling.

As she walked across the broken bridge, she tried to remember where the waterfall was. Absentmindedly jumping the gaps she didn't notice the loose platform until she jumped onto it, soon falling a short way into the shallow water. SPLASH…*blink blink*

"Wow that was scary…didn't expect that to happen…" she stammered as she sat in the water. Looking to her right, from hearing a rushing sound, she found a mini waterfall splashing into the sea around her.

"Aw! How cute it's so tiny…" she smiled as she got up and started to walk to the door that led to the other side of the island.

Upon reaching the little pool that the waterfall poured into, pulled off her blue socks and boots, as to not get them wet. As she waded into the water, towards the waterfall, she didn't notice the pair of turquoise eyes that were secretly watching her.

As she finished filling up the last of the bottles, she didn't notice the two tiny splashes, over the roar of the waterfall that came up behind her. Finishing the last bottle and picking up the box, she turned around and was surprised to see the silver-haired boy that she had watched earlier that day. The sudden surprise of seeing him, made her fall back into the waterfall, soaking all of her clothes and spilling the bottles all around.

"Hi I'm Riku," smiled the silver haired youth, as he held out his hand to help her up. Chase, seeing an opportunity to help someone instead of standing around, decided to go over and see if his help was needed.

"Hey guys! Need any help with anything?" Chase asked, as he stood at the edge of the pool.

"No, thank you though…Um, shouldn't you be helping Gizmo take coconuts to Kairi right about now?" questioned Luna with a confused look on her face.

"Its okay, we finished it already." He replied with a wave of his hand.

"That was fast. Maybe you could help Raven them. They seem to be really struggling there," suggested Luna, as she waved in the direction of the group's trio, seeing them struggling to pull a net of flopping fish onto shore.

"Alright, I'll see you guys later then." He replied as he waved and turned to go help the others.

"Wait!" cried Luna.

"What happened to Gizmo? He was with you wasn't he?" she continued as he turned back around.

Chase closed his eyes and placed a finger to his temple.

"Hmm…I'm not too sure. He disappeared somewhere…" he trailed off, once again turning and heading towards the others.

* * *

_"Shall we go?" I asked as I picked up the crate of bottles. Watching Luna turn around, one arm in front of her chest and the other placed on her cheek, as if she were thinking of something. She nodded then and we walked on in companionable silence, with Luna walking a bit behind in her thinking pose. _

_ "Oh!" she had exclaimed as she ran up next to my side. She started talking to me then, as I took notice of her attire. She had on a strange looking, I'm guessing, rabbit hat. It had long floppy ears. It stopped about mid back and had five points on each end, with a crescent moon on the left side. Her eyes were a nice shade of sky blue. Dark black hair with blue streaks poked out from underneath, reaching about her neck, while the rest swung around as she walked, wrapped in some kind of material and tied at the end. It kind of reminded me of a tail. _

_Despite the warm weather, she wore a dark blue scarf, with silver stars sewn into it, wrapped around her neck securely. Her arms were left bare, due to her strange dress. It was strapless and had ribbons crisscrossing each other on the front. It looked like it ended about waist length, but actually extended to about her knees, crescents and stars were woven in, also. It opened at the middle revealing a smaller skirt on the inside, in the shape of the sun. Underneath that, she wore dark blue loose shorts. It was designed for free movement. Her sky blue boots reached a few inches above her ankle and had wings on the outer side. A lone blue ribbon was tied on her arm looking quite out of place._

_ " -it's one of my favorite things to do when we come to the beach!. Have you ever buried one of your friends before?" she had asked as I turned my attention back to what she was saying._

_ "Hmm…not that I know of. Is it really that fun?" I asked, curious as to why it would be so entertaining._

_ "Aww! You're missing out then!" she said, her eyes shining brighter for some reason. _

_ "My brothers and I, and our dad, would pick a nice spot to dig and we would make these really big holes in the sand. Well, big enough to sit comfortably, anyway. And then, one of us would sit in it, and the others would push all the sand back in. and after that was done, we'd pile even more sand on top and start creating something!" she exclaimed excited. __**Was it me…? Or was she starting to speak faster…? And did her voice get a little higher as well?**_

_ "! I remember this one time when we made my little brother into a mermaid~ we gave him one of those tail thingies, and some female… 'assets,'" she said embarrassed._

_ "We also gave him some curly female hair too! When we finished we waited to see if he would get out. And after a while we would dig a moat around him and make like, this tunnel thing that lead to where the water came in. And after we dug a hole going straight to his feet! It helped a bit cause it loosened the sand around his butt and stuff. He would complain that it felt like things were crawling all over his legs, and we would just make the hole bigger. Eventually he did come out, and he looked funny! It looked like he had on this full bodied sand suit or something!" she laughed. _

_ It was so strange, the more she got excited, the faster she talked. It came to a point where I almost couldn't understand her. Thank goodness she was still human, and needed to breathe._

_ "Hehe. That really does sound like fun." I replied. I couldn't believe how fast a person could get excited in a short amount of time._

_ "It was..." the sparkle in her eyes dimmed. Even though the bright fire in her eyes dimmed I noticed the fond smile on her face. _

_ "But, yah know, memories are the best things ever! You can live a moment in time over and over again~ Like this one time when Chase and Gizmo-"she continued. I laughed as she told me different stories of her and her friends._

* * *

"NNNGH~!" cried out a girl, with dark, rich purple colored wavy hair, held up in a bun, as she struggled to help the other two pull up a somewhat huge net full of fish onto shore.

"Why does the _FISH_ have to fight back for?" grunted out the only boy there at the moment, as his dirty blonde hair covering his right eye stuck to his face due to sweat.

"Maybe…it's _because_ we're taking them out of their habitat, Dyne?" muttered the girl with long, lime green hair, as she answered the boy now known as Dyne.

"Heh Heh, I knew that Alya." He replied as he looked up to give her a small exhausted smile.

"But you know…they are going to a better place now, right Raven?" he said as he looked over to the other girl with the purple locks. The girl now known as Raven gave a small nod and with a determined face continued to help heft their load onto shore.

The 'Trio' momentarily pause what they were doing as they heard soft muffled crunches of the sand beneath shoes. Looking up they found that some help had finally arrived, although it was a bit uncalled for, it was greatly appreciated.

"Hey, you guys need help?" questioned a breathless Chase, as he placed his hands on his knees and bent a bit to catch his breath.

"Yeah!" "Hecks yes" and "Sure" came the sarcastic remarks from the three as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Nodding his head, Chase walked up to Dyne and grasped one of his corners. Together the four slowly trekked across the beach towards the area where the others were most likely waiting.

Upon reaching the other part of the island, and crossing through the shallow water they came upon a slightly raised part of the island, where a tall wooden structure rest. Peeking over the edge, Chase's expression turned slightly mischievous as he spotted, right at the bottom of the structure, a sleeping Gizmo, completely knocked out. Temporarily stopping the others for a moment, he picked up a particularly medium sized fish, he took aim and…

* * *

_**SPLECK!** Something slightly slimy and smelling of fish hit him squarely in the face, and was currently flopping around on his stomach, obviously looking for escape. Short spiky dark grey, almost black, hair, playfully tossed around on the breeze as dark grey-blue eyes looked around sleepily, trying to find out who had thrown the fish at him. As he looked toward the area with the wooden bridge he couldn't help but notice the four pairs of laughing eyes staring up at him._

_"Come and help us Gizmo~!" cried Raven as she held up the corner she had been pulling. Nodding, I brush the rest of the drowsiness out of my eyes and stand up bringing the fish along with me._

_As they neared the area that held the hand crafted raft, they came upon Luna and Riku sprawled out on the sand with water bottles littered around. One looking surprised with her hair messy from the fall, while the other had a silly smile upon his face. The others around just stared as they stilled their previous actions of stacking the pile of coconuts and just relaxing._

* * *

"Hahaha~!" burst out the laughter of Luna as she ran her fingers through her loose hair, to put it back in place.

"You should've listened to me when I said it was my turn, Riku! Now look what happened…" She said happily as she got up into a kneeling position, and started to pick up bottles around her.

"Mhmm, I can hardly understand it being your turn when we were already here." He chuckled, as he too started to pick up bottles around them.

"I…I wanted to give them to Kairi…!" she stated, with an embarrassed pout on her face.

Everyone laughed softly. It was just like Luna to want to argue over something silly.

* * *

Thanks for reading!

-Lunamonki


	6. Fun and Games

**A/N: Just as a head up. I really just wanted to update the story. Sometime this week or the next, this chapter will be deleted and replaced with an updated version. My partner is currently updating it right now. lols! I really couldn't wait till she finished. Anyways! After how many years, I finally have a new chapter to post! =D **

**As a warning, because of all the new characters introduced, POV's will change constantly. Whenever there are sections with italics, bold italics, or just bold will be different character views. **

**Oh! And another thing, there will be grammatical mistakes, but its for the purpose of each character. On like, how they think, personality, and whatnot.**

**Regular font will be third person view.  
**

**Chapter VI**

The sun beat down on them in a pleasing way as the soft sounds of the ocean floated up towards them. Being a few hours just after noon Sora, Kairi, and Riku relaxed upon the Paopu tree. They had just finished today's preparations, and were taking a short break together; a bit away from the group they now called friends.

"So…Kairi's world is really out there right?" inquired Sora, as he leaned backwards and questioned to nobody in particular.

"That's right. Now that Luna's group has landed we know there are other worlds out there." replied Riku, a cool confidence and determination shone in his eyes as he stared out to the ocean.

"But, how far will a raft take us?" Sora questioned back, leaning forward a bit to look at Riku.

"Who knows?" he replied, as he gestured with his left hand. "If we have to we'll think of something else." He stated, gazing off into the distance.

"So," piped up Kairi as she, too, looked towards Riku. "Suppose you do get to another world…What would you do there?" she asked, as she let out a small laugh.

"Well, I haven't really thought about it." he paused. "It's just, I've always wondered, why we're here on this island. Out of all the possible worlds out there… Why did we end up on this one?" he stated as he turned to look at the others.

Turning back to the ocean he started to talk once more. "This place seems like just a little piece of something much greater. So…we could have just as easily ended up somewhere else right?"

"Mmm…I don't know…" supplied Sora as he turned on the limb, to comfortably lie on his back, as both of his legs dangled on either side of the tree.

"Exactly!" quietly exclaimed Riku, as he brought his arms down to his sides and gazed out at the ocean.

"That's why we need to go and find out." Getting up from his position he walks towards the edge of the little island. Glancing over to the eight young teens lounging about the beach, he noticed one out of the seven were puttering around a table (probably the one they stored in the shed) making something over a portable stove, while the others lazed about in the sand.

"Just sitting here won't do a thing. It's the same old stuff!" he declared. Sora looked over to him, as Kairi looked up shaking her hair out of her eyes.

"So let's find them together! All of us…" he decided, resolution strong in his voice. Still looking over at the group, he noticed how everyone started to get up from their lying positions. Through their body language he could easily see that they were getting excited about something.

"You've been thinking a lot lately haven't you?" inquired Kairi as she turned and smiled softly towards him.

"It's thanks to you, you know, and the others as well. If you guys hadn't come here, I never would have thought of it." He glances back toward her "Kairi, thanks." His voice was sincere, as he threw a small smile her way. He soon relaxed into his original position, satisfied with just enjoying the view, in the company of heis friends.

"Hmph…You're welcome!" she replied cheerfully, as once again everything returned to a comfortable silence, with the exception of the excited group down below.

* * *

(Mizu)

_Boring! Boring Boring booorrrriiing~! What exactly is there to do here? It's such a wonderful day! The sun is shining, the wind is giving nice, gentle breezes, and we are on a beach for goodness sakes! Yet, here we are lying down on this warm comfortable sand… it is rather nice, though. Augh! That's not the point though! On such a wonderful day we could be doing soo many fun things. Like a nice heated game of sham battle, or even water fight! Yes! That sounds like so much fun right now! I'm betting Luna would have something in her bag to play with._

"_Guys! Let's play roll call!" exclaimed Gizmo rather enthusiastically. One thing I never really got about Giz was his outfit. Seriously, why would anyone wear a long sleeved coat thing, pants, and high boots in the summer? Well, I know I wear tights in the summer, but it's a thin material so it not so bad. Maybe his coat and pants are made of thin material also…I guess that could explain why he never seems to mind or even sweats much. I'll find out one day for sure! _

_Everyone laughed at his suggestion, except for one. Roll call, after all, was something we 'played' during sleepovers to find out who was sleeping. "For the last time Gizmo, it's not a game!" Raven called out, as she sat up to lightly glare at him, slight annoyance clear in her voice. Raven's outfit was similar, I guess, in a way. She wore a collared sleeveless vest/shirt (no one really knew), with a silvery-grey tank top, made out of some kinda weird sturdy material over it, like an armor or something. She had a tie around her neck, loosely tied. Covering her arms were these glove things. It didn't really cover her hands, but it looped around her middle finger, covered the top of her hands and went up all the way, just a bit past her elbows. She had pants and boots also, but her pants were more…clingy to her. Like my tights! She had bandages here and there, more for decoration than anything else. Oh! And her star pin that held her deep violet hair in a bun! It's such a pretty pin… _

_Alya piped in then, "Seriously though, let's play something…" her lime green hair fanned out beneath her._

_Yay! At last, I'm not the only one who thinks so! Out of all of us…I'd say Alya was the most poetic in a way. Hehe~! She has her quirks too. She has a thing for zippers and belts! She has a zipper ring and earring and the jacket (currently tied around her waist) had zippers on it. And on her waist and thigh were the belts. Mmmm…she has a big thing for denim also…under the jacket was a spaghetti strap top outlined in orange, and covered in flowers. _

_At this point I couldn't help but listen to Luna's rhythmic cutting. It was kinda makin me sleepy sleepy…Distant laughter and voices appeared when I closed my eyes. A small ball bounced around my mind then, each bounce coinciding with each chop of Luna's blade. _

"_Hacky guys! Let's play hacky!" I gasped out, as I quickly got up and turned to the others, bubblegum pink hair and ribbons briefly obstructing my view at the quick action. The exclamations of agreement were like music to my ears. Finally! Something fun! _

"_Hey! Why don't you guys invite Riku them also? I'd bet they'd have lots of fun too," Suggested Luna as she tossed her cut vegetables into a pan with some hot oil. _

"_I'll get them!" I cried as I quickly got up and ran to go look for the other four. Waaaah~! This was gonna be sooo amusing! _

"_Don't get distracted and make us wait too long, now, Mizu!" Raven's voice faded as I got farther away. I laughed and gave a carefree wave as I went in search of Selphie first. _

* * *

_(Kairi)_

_**Upon the spot we were resting on, we could hear the calls of that one bubbly girl, Mizu. "Kairi, Riku, Sora!" she cried, accompanied by the thumping of her shoes on the wooden planks. We all turned to look at her then. Her hair was flying behind her along with the tails of her dress. Excitement clearly shone through her lavender eyes. **_

"_**Guys! You gotta come play with us!" she exclaimed as she slowed to a stop. "It'll be so much fun I promise!" she continued as she grabbed my hand and jerked me off of the tree. Her strength surprised me…she was so skinny…how was she able to pull me off so easily...then again I'm just as small. Maybe that's why. Haha~ then again maybe it's just her enthusiasm. She always seemed to be hyper after all. I was given some time to regain my balance before she was off again, semi-dragging me behind her. I was having a hard time keeping us. She was so fast! **_

"_**C'mon guys!" I laughed. I didn't want to be the only one to go. A small fear soon filled me as we continued on. She wasn't serious was she? **_

"_**Mizu wait! Can't we take the stairs instead?" I exclaimed as I stumbled behind her. **_

"_**Don't worry; this way is faster and more fun! Jump on three 'kay?" she grinned at me…I wasn't so sure about this girl anymore…maybe she was secretly suicidal or something. I couldn't help but wonder when she was going to start counting, as we got closer to the shack and finally started running on it.**_

"_**THREE!" she shouted as we jumped into the air. Well, it was more like she pulled me into it. I wasn't quite ready after all. Where was the countdown I was expecting? Overcome with the feeling of weightlessness and butterflies, I couldn't help laughing as we landed next to the waterfall near the shack that housed the stairs leading to the Paopu Island. I wasn't too sure if I was laughing because I'm still alive, or because it was fun, but it sure felt good. **_

"_**Haha~ C'mon Mizu let's go!" I laughed as I dragged her this time. Riku and Sora slowly trailed behind us. **_

* * *

"Sora!" yelled Riku as he tossed a yellow object at Sora. Turning Sora caught it just before it hit him in the chest. "You wanted one didn't you?" he continued as he pointed at the object.

"A paopu fruit…?" Sora inquired, confused.

Walking past Sora, Riku replied. "If two people share one their destinies become intertwined. They'll remain a part of each others live, no matter what," he paused. "C'mon. I know you want to try it," he teased, as he waved his hand in the air nonchalantly.

"What are you talking-!" Sora starts, only to be cut off from Riku.

"Ahahaha~!" Riku bursts out, as he starts running off the bridge to join the others. Looking at the fruit Sora then hesitantly tosses it off the bridge, and starts after Riku.

* * *

(Raven)

_Finally! We could start. It wasn't as long as I'd expected it to be though. But then again, I guess I should've expected it. Mizu was one of the fastest runners in our group, aside from Dyne. _

"_Have you guys ever played a game named Hacky before?" asked Alya, as we all turned our attention to their very confused faces. It was so obvious that they have never played it before. _

"_Don't worry, we'll teach you," stated Gizmo as he patted Sora on the shoulder. Before hand, we had all agreed that I would do the teaching, since I could break it down into easy short, understandable, lessons, while we all demonstrated along the way. With this I started._

"'_Kay, the object of this game is to, basically, hit the ball as many times as you can, with only the use of your feet, mostly." I explained. Making a motion with my feet, as if I was about to hit it. _

"_Mostly" Riku butt in, as they looked on intently, while listening also. My, was he an impatient one. I was just about to get to that point. "Yes, mostly. That's, because you can also use your head, hat, chest, knee, and other items on hand. Like a jump rope for example. As long as the user has a really good control over it and doesn't hit anyone. Nothing big and bulky like a bat or a bag." I replied. Definitely no bags. After all, we don't want to have a repeat of that one time Luna almost clocked out Nova, swinging her shoulder bag around. _

"_Oh, okay" said Sora as he leaned back a bit and put his hands behind his head. _

"_Can I use this?" asked Selphie, as she held her 'nun chucks' in the air. I swear, they reminded me more of a jump rope than anything else. Now that I look at it again, it really was a jump rope. Where does she get off calling it a nun chuck? It looks nothing like it. Fortunately, Alya cried out an answer before I could state my opinion and potentially start a lengthy debate. _

"_Definitely," she said, shifting into a more balanced stance. Getting along with my explanation, I continued._

"_The best part of the shoe to use, is this," I stated, while tracing the inner part of my shoe with my fingers. It's the part where the arch of the foot is. Deciding to demonstrate, I tossed the little bean bag (procured from Luna's bag) into the air and proceeded to hit it a few times before catching it again. "This is the most common way that we play. The main rule; no hands. Now, the other ways that we're about to demonstrate are not the only ones. There are probably more out there somewhere, but, these are the ones that we know. Ready, guys?" _

_Making sure that everyone was ready, I tossed the bean bag into the air and jumped a bit before hitting it. It flew over to Nova, who wore lots of indigo…her hat was puffed upward a bit and hanging around the sides, with a button decorating one side. She had on a indigo button up shirt with HUGE buttons. The shirt ended just above her hips. You would have been able to see her stomach if it wasn't for the fact that she was wearing a white tank top under her shirt. The tank top was tucked into her indigo short-shorts, which were held up by straps and big buttons yet again. On all of her buttons the threading formed big x's. White gloves and high ankle red and indigo shoes finished her outfit. Oh yeah, and the monkey tail…she was sooo obsessed with it…I'm betting she 'forced' Luna to sew it on or something. One thing she was good at while playing hacky, was being able to hit all the high shots. Extending her foot out and leaning back a bit for balance, Nova hit the bag, with the tip of her shoe, towards the person across from her. _

_Who was our coat wearing friend, Gizmo. He was one of the most optimistic guys we have, along with Luna and Mizu. Along with his coat and pants, he had a huge pocket watch that was usually kept in an outside pocket, with the end connected to a loop on the inside of his coat, and the chain hanging out in the front. Let's not forget his hat now. It was a cap with a brim that curved upwards and had a shiny, domed happy face. Which when opened, contained and old styled compass. Catching the hacky with the brim of his hat, he paused for a moment and flicked it to the side to the seemingly unsuspecting boy near him. _

_Which, just so happened to be Dyne. He wore, a black sleeveless t-shirt that had a skeleton shaped TV. on it, with a rainbow. Around his hips he wore a shorts type overall, that went just past his knees. He never liked having them all the way up, so the top half always hung around his waist. On his feet he wore…ninja sandals…? I don't know what they are, but they covered most of his feet and went up past his ankles. They were checkered of course, along with the bandana around his neck. He currently had his hat on also, seeing as he didn't want to leave it on the ground. It was one of those hats you wore when it was snowing, with the fur lining. With the fast reflexes he had, there was no trouble for him to easily knock the bean bag towards the person across from him, with his signature move. Twisting his leg outwards he hit the hacky with the outer part of his shoe rather than the inside. Sending it careening into its next victim. _

_Chase was prepared for it though. He wore nice, dark brown, plaid pants, with a zippered hoodie that had a skull on a bottom corner. His sleeves were currently rolled up and on his right arm showed a skull tattoo that Alya dared him to get one year. He had on plain blue and white sneakers and a visor on his head, which also held a skull in the middle. A long belt hung to one side and on his hands were black fingerless gloves that also had a skull adorning the back of each hand. Doing his usual, Chase whacked the hacky in the most common way possible to the girl next to Dyne. With the exception of the foot that did the hitting in the front of the other leg, it was in the back, instead. _

_Mizu was ready for it. Moving forward a bit, so that she was under the ball, she chest bumped it just enough so that she could easily hit it back into the air, right towards Alya. She had a thing with catching the hacky on the tip of her shoe. And that's exactly what she did. After catching it snuggly, Alya flicked the ball into the air and hit it just hard enough to reach back to me. _

_Catching the bean bag in the sir, I turned to see the shocked faces of the others staring at us with awe. I couldn't stop the grin appearing on my face then…I wanted to laugh so badly! The look they were giving us was like they were meeting professionals or something. We are not professionals after all, just friends who love to play. _

"_It's okay guys! You don't have to worry about not hitting it, or even being able to do the things we just did. We've been playing for years! Most of this stuff just comes from instinct and reflexes anyway." grinned Mizu. We all laughed a bit she was right, we have been playing for a long time…_

* * *

After the instructions were done, the group decided to let the beginners practice a bit before they all played together. While the newbies practiced, they played a round of records, with the exception of Raven who was overseeing the practice of the others, making sure they knew what they were doing. Records, as a game, explained the goal in its name. Being that you hit the Hacky as many times as you can before you miss.

Their best player of this game was Mizu, with a score of about 150, with Raven and Alya right behind. Raven with a bit over 120 and Alya about 110. Following them was Dyne, with a score of about 80. Eden and Blaz were after, getting scores that circled 70, but not quite making 80 yet. Luna was the runner up then, although she ALWAYS seemed to mess up at 50, no matter what she did. No one knew if it was a coincidence or if she did it on purpose. Chase came after getting just a bit over 40. Gizmo followed with a score of about, 35. Nova, unfortunately, always seemed to come last, getting very close to 30, but not making it.

As soon as their round of records was done, they called the others over so they could finally get their game going. The smell of cooking food surrounded them.

"Mmm…Luna's making something good again…" sighed Alya, as she turned her nose up into the air. Nova, too, lifted her nose and smelled the aroma on the breeze, along with the others.

"It does smell good…" she muttered as she turned to look at the one not currently playing with them at the moment. Luna had her hat off and sitting on the side, along with her scarf, for safety reasons. She seemed to be baking several things, wrapped in foil, held on a wire mesh, above the fire. On the table sat a bowl of some kind of vegetable stir fry and hopefully a pot of some kind of stew. There was also a pot of freshly made rice and cut up fruits, next to a bowl of creamy rice pudding. After a few moments of enjoying the smells, their game started. It had to be one of their longest games ever. Selphie, being very adept with her nun chucks, would keep the mini bean bag within the circle of people. Unfortunately, the reach is limited. A wet hacky wasn't very nice to play with when it sprayed you with water, every time you hit it.

* * *

(Luna)

_Phew~! I finally get some time to rest…Hanging around a fire gets tiring and not to mention, kinda hot also. I don't really mind though, because seeing the smiles of the ones I care for, as they enjoy my food, makes me so happy. A little help would be very much appreciated though… I like to play games with everyone too! Just cause I don't say anything doesn't mean I don't mind… I really wanna play too though…I just…don't want to interrupt their current game, it's been going on for a while now and I don't want them to start over just cause I want to butt in. How I know this? Unfortunately, I'll never tell…it's easier to let them think that I don't know what's going on, when, in fact, I do know. Ignorance is bliss after all. My current dilemma? Trying to figure out how to let them know the food's done, without intentionally stopping the game. _

_Seeing an opportunity, I quickly tied my scarf and hat together and ran as fast as I could. Doing some quick calculations in my head, I jumped and threw my hat as hard as I could. It flew past the airborne bean bag. Flicking my wrist in I quickly pulled my hat in, so that it didn't get all wet. Smiling brightly, I turned to see the awed faces of my friends. I almost laughed at how silly they looked. Oh my…this was almost as fun as that time when…Wait a minute! Getting off track here…_

* * *

"I didn't think that would work!" laughed Luna, as she took the hacky out of her hat. "What, are you doing here Luna?" asked Dyne sarcastically, a small smile adorned his features. To the four, who had just met him, he sounded very rude and shot him a confused glance. '_Weren't they all friends?_' was the thought running through their minds.

"Hmm…just wanted to say…that dinner is ready if you guys want~," replied Luna a silly grin on her face. She burst with small giggles, then, as her long time friends cheered and made beelines towards the table.

* * *

(Luna)

_Turning to the four that were left behind, I couldn't help but let out a small laugh. They had such funny "what just happened?' faces. They were so cute! I really just wanted to hug them! Unfortunately for me, they seemed to be like most of my friends. The only person I could actually get a hug from was Gizmo. I loved his hugs! They made me all warm and fuzzy…that's why I love hugs! Not a lot of people like to do that with me…holding my urge back, I instead went up to the two in the middle. Turning them around, I started pushing them._

* * *

_(Sora)_

"_**C'mon guys! There's no harm in just snacking and hanging out with us right?" grinned Luna as she forcibly pushed Kairi and I towards where the others were eating. "Riku, Selphie! I expect you guys to eat just a bit also!" she called back toward the other two. **_

_**It felt so strange to meet someone so openhearted. We just met today and she treats us all like family. It wasn't unpleasant…but rather…out of the ordinary? Yah, that's it. We couldn't help but laugh though, at her antics. Letting us go and rushing forward, she cried out. **_

"_**No! Wait! That's for dessert!" as she waved her arms in the air. It's great how this strange day ended so nicely…**_

* * *

Later that evening, Luna decided to go on a little walk. Having seen Sora toss something over the bridge earlier that day, she went to see if anything was still there. Seeing a little green sticking out, where the water was lapping on the shore, she went over and dug into the sand a bit. She stared in awe as she pulled out a star shaped fruit.

"Waahh~! This is sooo cute! Imma save it." She quietly exclaimed as she carefully placed the fruit into her bag. Satisfied with her find, she walked back to the area where the others were sleeping. A lone star blinked out, just as she closed her eyes and turned in for the night.

* * *

That's it for this chappy~

Thanks again for reading!

~Lunamonki


	7. Tournament

**Chapter VII  
**

**Disclaimer**: We don't own anything except for the OC's and plot twists.

**A/N:** Just as a heads up! We are going to try and update at _least_ once a month. We don't want to disappoint anyone. we have chapters planned out, but not written out. so we're working on that. Ah! Expect to have chapter 8 out by the end of the month though! =] Have fun guys!

* * *

"Gawrsh it sure seems awfully quiet in the castle today," said a tall black dog clad in silver armor to his companion, a duck in blue wizard's robes.

It was a typical day in Disney Castle. The marble walls of the castle were as white as ever as the knight and the mage sat down to relax for lunch in the castle's hedge garden, the courtyard. Each hedge was trimmed after some of the symphony members that played for the king and queen during parties and their arrival when they entered Disney Town for events. In the center of the hedge garden was an exact replica of Disney Castle, hedge form, with decorative hedge bushes near it.  
"Of course it's quiet, Goofy… The castle has very few visitors unless there's a party going on. And if there's a party going on we'd know. We ARE loyal subjects to your majesty after all," said the duck. Birds were chirping as the duck went to lean against the cow that looked like it was playing cymbals over its head.  
"Let's go check up on him, Donald …" suggested Goofy.

"Why?" frowned Donald. "Nothing ever happens here, it's always so peaceful."

"Ah-hyuck … I dunno, it's just I'm worried about the King." said Goofy, looking worried.

A slight breeze blew a leaf off a nearby bush. Goofy watched the leaf fly a short distance as it hit the ground to the castle's soft grass.

"Aw phooey! You're ALWAYS worried about the King," quipped Donald, as his eyes were half closed. His head was already on the cow's leg as he went to try take a nap.

"C'mon Donald," insisted Goofy. "This time I got a bad feeling that somethin' is goin' on."

Donald opened one eye as he grabbed his hat that he had laid down beside him in preparation for sleep. "Okay, fine Goofy. But if nothing has happened to the castle or king or anyone else I'm coming back here to nap for the rest of today and you can keep watch of everything." It was normally Goofy sleeping in the Courtyard, but Donald was feeling especially tired today.

Goofy smiled at Donald with his two buck teeth as he watched his duck friend put on his hat. Unlike normal dogs, Goofy could walk on his two feet. He had long black floppy ears and was quite tall. Donald looked pretty much like a regular duck except he had a stern demeanor and wore clothes.

They headed across the hedge garden to the hall, walking by broomsticks with arms, carrying buckets.

They reached the doors to King Mickey's domain. The doors were huge, but a small rectangular field yielded the entrance. The grand hall, otherwise known as the Audience Chamber that had King Mickey's throne consisted of a single red carpet. It was a big space that was generally used to hold parties, and other royal organization meetings.

A single red tapestry of velvet hung down from the ceiling before the throne, in the silhouette of King Mickey's head. Brilliant marble columns adorned the walls of the King's Chamber.

The throne was empty.

"Your majesty is probably in the library," shrugged Donald. Goofy furrowed his brow in concern as they headed to the library.

Goofy entered the library to only discover it was empty besides for a yellow dog named Pluto at his regular corner in his basket, fast asleep. Unlike Donald and Goofy, he did not wear clothes but instead a green collar. He, too had black floppy ears and a big black nose, similar to Goofy.

On the table was a pot with a sole flower in it, paperweights, a lamp and a few papers.

"Look, there's an envelope in Pluto's mouth," said Donald suddenly, surveying the area. It was enclosed with the King's seal. Goofy reached to pick it up, but it was tightly wrenched between the dog's mouth. Donald quickly did a lightning spell near Pluto to quickly wake him up a second. Pluto opened his eyes abruptly dropping the envelope from his mouth onto the floor and then turned in his basket, quickly going back to sleep. Goofy opened the envelope. Having initially holding the letter upside down, Goofy flipped it right side up reading:

_ Donald_

_ Sorry to rush off without sayin' goodbye, but there's big trouble brewin'. Not sure why, but the stars have been blinkin' out, one by one. And that means disaster can't be far behind. I had to leave you all but I've gotta go check into it. There's someone with a "key" - the key to our survival. So I need you and Goofy to find him, and stick with him. Got it? _

_ We need that key or we're doomed! So go to Traverse Town and find Leon. He'll point you in the right direction._

"WHAAAT?" exclaimed Donald, exasperated. Goofy continued reading.

_ P.S. _

_ Would ya apologize to Minnie for me? Thanks, pal. - Mickey Mouse._

Minnie and Daisy, Donald's love, walked in as Goofy read the last part of the letter. "Tell me what?" asked Queen Minnie. Daisy had her hands on her hips.

As Goofy handed the letter to Daisy to be read out loud again, Donald sighed. He did not want to worry the others and was planning on just leaving with just Goofy.

"Oh dear! What could this mean?" blinked Daisy, showing her purple eye shadow. She was in her usual purple dress adorning her tiara.

Minnie in her queen red dress with also a tiara replied. "It means we'll just have to trust the king." She had her hands clasped over her dress. She was a black mouse with big bright round eyes. She did not look the least bit surprised at Mickey's disappearance.

"Gawrsh, I sure hope he's alright," said Goofy.

Donald crossed his arms. "Your highness! Don't worry. We'll find the king and this "key."

Minnie looked a bit relieved. "Thank you, both of you."

"Daisy, can you take care of-" started Donald. Daisy cut him off. "Of course. You be careful, now, both of you."

Minnie gestured to the desk. "Oh, and to chronicle your travels, he will accompany you."

Donald looked at where Minnie gestured. A jumping insect was on the table. They had not noticed him before.

"Over here! Cricket's the name. Jiminy Cricket, at your service," said the bug. He wore a top hat and a black fancy leather coat. He removed his hat and bowed to Donald and Goofy. The appearance of Jiminy Cricket's arrival that day was why Minnie did not look too shocked at the King's leave. He had showed up saying that his world was swallowed up and was willing to help out in any way possible. She sensed a foreboding and knew, because King Mickey was always quite virtuous, that he would have his head up in it if he was not involved already.

"We hope for your safe return. Please help the king," said Minnie. Donald put his hand across his chest in salute to the queen as a determined look entered his face. Goofy, standing right next to the two maidens also put a hand to his brow in salute with a look to match Donald's.

"You're coming, too!" said Donald bossily, pulling Goofy with him to the hall.

They walked down the winding steps to the hangar below the castle.

"Gawrsh, Jiminy, your world disappeared, too?"

Jiminy rode on Goofy's knight helmet. "It was terrible. We were scattered." _Clink Clink_. Goofy's armor could be heard as they walked down the spiral steps.

"And as far as I can see, I'm the only one who made it to this castle," continued Jiminy.

"Goofy.." interrupted Donald.

"Oh right," said Goofy. "I gotcha. While we're in other worlds, we can't let on where we're from."

They were almost at the bottom. "We gotta protect the world border."

"Order," corrected Donald.

"Right. World order." said Goofy chuckling. Donald sighed.

They reached the dark hall to the hangar. Dim, magenta glowing lights in the silhouette of the King lit the hallway. "I guess we'll need new duds when we get there, huh?" said Goofy.

They walked down the tiny steps to reach the same floor as the ship they were going to ride in. The ship at the center of the room was mostly red in color, with two yellow missiles on the side and white wings for flight. The top of the ship had a blue clear semi-sphere. The cockpit of the ship.

Like the castle, the hangar was another brilliant piece of work in itself. A giant cog was in the room as well as a giant hand moving about. There were several little cogs all about. The noise in the room made it sound like they were in a clock.

A saxophone looking instrument was glued to the ground near the ship, with the blowhole being bigger than normal and the hole where the music would normally come out was emitted with a bright light. The saxophone had a third mouth piece to it that extended to the hangar's platform. Donald spoke into the saxophone.

"Hello up there? Donald Duck to launch crew! Anytime you're ready." One of the saxophone's many pipes extended to a box on the hangar's side.

Two chipmunks wearing cargo aprons and gloves were in the control room. Chip and Dale was their name. Chip had a black nose and Dale had a red one. Chip saluted as Dale pulled a lever. Smoke piped up from hangar's sides as other cogs in the hangar began to move faster. The giant hand grabbed first Goofy (looking chipper and eager) and then Donald (upside down, with his arms folded), placing them into the cockpit of the ship.

The doors to the hangar burst open as Pluto followed Goofy and Donald, making it just in time before the cockpit to the ship closed. Minnie and Daisy stood at the platform preceding the ship. Donald gave Daisy a thumbs up and winked.

The doors to the ship's platform opened as the lights on the ground to the takeoff platform went off.  
"BLAST OFF!" yelled Donald, pointing his finger toward the exit. An arrow appeared pointing forward. Minnie and Daisy gave the knight and wizard one last look, as the ship exited from the hangar from below.

"AIYEEEEEEEE," exclaimed Goofy and Donald in surprise, not expecting the launch off point to be underneath the ship, as they set off into space toward Traverse Town.

* * *

"Make my eggs over easy, mommy," said Nova, talking to her mom. "You know, with the yolk inside." _Sizzle Sizzle_. Just as Nova's mom was about to reply, Nova opened her eyes again to only find herself in a sleeping bag on wooden surface.

'Oh yeah,' said Nova, reminding herself out loud as the salt breeze flew into her face. 'We're on Destiny Islands."

She sniffed the air around her. She could definitely hear the sizzling of eggs. The aroma of pancakes, bacon, sausages filled the atmosphere as she propped up from her sleeping spot. Everyone's blankets and knapsacks were all scattered and put on the side. The sun was just barely above the horizon as Nova went to join her companions.

"Did you save any for me?" asked Nova to Luna, as she saw Chase handing out the plates. A soft thud could be heard as Nova turned around. Mizu had jumped down from a tree nearby with two coconuts in each hand. She clapped Nova on the back. "WHERE WERE YOU? Everyone was either helping Luna with breakfast or helping Sora and his friends prepare for their trip."

Raven was giving out the utensils as Alya looked out toward the ocean, looking distant as she was eating the food on her plate. "She was busy sleeping, that's what," said Raven, giving her a look. Gizmo was placing even proportions on everyone's plate.

Mizu quickly grabbed Gizmo's pocket watch to check the time. It was only 8:00 AM, but Nova was normally used to waking up around noon in the summer.

"Come eat Dyne," said Luna, as Dyne was drawing happy faces into the sand nearby them. Dyne grabbed his plate from Chase. Eggs, a crepe, a few strips of bacon and links of sausage, plus a tiny stack of pancakes dripping with maple syrup and a small piece of butter covered the surface of the white china.

"Yweah it's gwood," said Nova, her mouth full with pancake already. Bits of pancake were coming out.

"Remember your manners," sighed Luna, as Gizmo handed Nova a napkin. "Sorry," came her muffled reply as she wiped her mouth and swallowed a chunk of sausage.

Sora, Riku, Kairi, and another friend, a girl by the name of Selphie, came by to greet them as they finished eating up.

"I made you guys plates too," said Luna, but Riku held up a hand. "Thanks Luna but we ate already."

Riku looked really impressed at the whole setup at how Luna had somehow managed to fit several plates, a big picnic blanket, utensils, and more into her bag. "What's this," asked Sora, picking up a folded brown golden piece of bread.

"That's a crepe," answered Raven. "I'll try it," grinned Sora, handing one to Kairi. Riku really wanted to eat more of Luna's cooking, but unfortunately had a big breakfast that morning. He helped himself to some of the tiny sausages and a strip of bacon to be polite.

Sora bit into his crepe with strawberry jam on top. Kairi had raspberry jam on her's. "I ate already too but it smells good," Selphie complimented. The remainders of their plates went to Chase and Gizmo, who ate the most out of the eight.

After finishing cleaning up, Sora and Riku gave each other smiling looks. Kairi giggled as she knew what they were about to tell them. They had discussed this morning on the way to the island on what to do with their new friends.

"Hey guys," said Riku. "Since you made it really easy and got all our provisions for exploring, we were discussing on teaching you guys a bit of swordplay."

Selphie coughed. "This is gonna be so unfair to you newcomers though. Riku's so good… He beat me and Sora at the same time!"

"We wanted to try a tournament," continued Riku. Sora beamed. "This time I'll beat Riku for sure!"

Sora looked determined. Kairi giggled again.

Pulling out a paper and pencil from Luna's bag, Alya wrote down the names of all nine of them, excluding Selphie, who played with her jump rope instead; Kairi, a cheerer on the sidelines; and Luna who refused to take part in such an aggressive game. ("I don't wanna accidentally hurt someone!") She was to be the referee and start the matches.

Sora and Riku showed them the motions of swinging. "See, swing upward if someone tries to spring attack you." Luna listened to bits of instruction and watched as the two boys showed the motions of swordplay. They had gone to the shack to get everyone their weapons. An hour went by when everyone got the gist of how to wield the wooden swords.

"Hm only nine names," said Alya. "Write my name in twice," suggested Riku. "I'll go 2 matches since I'm the undefeated champ of the isle."

"We'll see about that," said Sora, ready to go. To win the match was either by "knocking out" their opponent (falling on the sand), or by disarming them of their wooden sword.  
Gizmo took off his hat with the compass stuck to it as he shook it around with all the papers with names on them.

"The first match is…" said Gizmo, withdrawing 2 tiny folded papers at once. "ALYA VS DYNE!"

Dyne keep jumping about as Alya dug her heels into the sand trying to spring blow by blow to Dyne. Unfortunately, she kept missing, no matter how much force she was willing to put into the blow to knockout her opponent. Forty minutes went by as Alya began huffing.

"Keep still Dyne!" cried Alya, getting frustrated. As another minute passed by, Alya threw her wooden sword at Dyne, who dodged. "Ahh I give up," said Alya, annoyed that Dyne was so agile and swift.

"The winner is DYNE!" said Luna, raising her arm in signal to conclude the match. Dyne smiled smugly as Gizmo pulled out the next two names.

"NOVA AND RIKU NEXT," said Gizmo.

Nova smiled. She liked challenges, and she always found swords really cool. So cool that - Smack_. Wait - where was her sword_?

While Nova was busy with her own thoughts, Riku had smoothly whacked the sword out of her hands. "You should be more alert next time," advised Riku, as Kairi and Selphie clapped. "Whaaat," said Nova, disappointed. "That match wasn't even a minute long."

"Oh well there's always next time," said Chase as Gizmo withdrew the next two names. Gizmo was happy as he withdrew his own name, but frowned as Mizu was his opponent.

"I don't feel right hitting a girl with this," said Gizmo. "Aww c'mon," said Mizu. "This is gonna be fun!" Gizmo did light swings as Mizu dodged each sword swing.

They were moving all around the beach and going all around the place. Mizu jumped really high and then did a slide against the grains of damp grains of sand against the ocean.

"Mizu's so fast," Luna commented.

Finally, with another recoil of Gizmo's which left him vulnerable to attack, Mizu shifted quickly around Gizmo before he could turn to block her blow, knocking Gizmo to his feet. His sword had also escaped from his hands, landing in the sand near him.

"Wow Mizu's so good," said Gizmo, putting his hands up in defeat but laughing. His knees were a little scraped from the fall but the sand was soft. Riku observed Mizu's technique, knowing he might very well end up facing her.

"MIZU WINS," Luna said, giggling too, even though she was against such a violent game. "So far no one has really gotten hurt so that's good."

"One thousand, four hundred twenty three…" Selphie counted. She was playing with her jump rope from a safe distance as they were all watching the matches. "Wow Selphie you really are into jump roping huh," said Chase, coming by her for a moment, away from the matches as he waited for his name to be called. He was amazed at how many times she could go at it. "I love jump roping," grinned Selphie as Gizmo called Riku and Raven's name next.

Being both aggressive combatants, Riku and Raven did not spend nearly as much time dodging but rather deflecting each others quick, strong blows.

_Hmm she's pretty good too_, thought Riku. But… "**THIS IS IT**!" said Riku jumping up at a height that even Mizu couldn't reach due to his tallness and skill. He dived down at Raven. Raven could not escape in time so she ran back a little space to gather momentum to parry Riku's devastating finisher move.

Raven closed her eyes. _CRACKKKKKKK_.

Both swords splintered and broke apart.

"Wow," Sora said, shocked at the results of the match. "I guess it's a tie."

Luna looked wide eyed at the both of them. "TIE!" she declared, looking at the two. Riku gave Raven a thumbs up. "Wow you're pretty good. I'll c'ya in round two I hope."

Raven beamed. "That match was awesome."

Riku did not notice that he had a little bit of wood cut into his arm. Luna gasped, and called his name, pointing at the tiny wounded area as she rushed to her bag to aid him. "It's nothing, really." said Riku.

Kairi raised her eyebrow at Riku as she turned to Sora and whispered something to him. Sora shrugged in response as Luna gave him a tiny band aid for his arm.

"It's only a tiny bruise," Riku insisted.

Raven had a few blisters on her hands but was overall alright. She was, however, sweating from such a heated battle.

Gizmo chuckled. "Hm speed matches and strength matches I wonder what's gonna happen next.." Nova handed her sword to Raven as Riku went to get another sword from storage.

Gizmo pulled out Chase and Sora's name next, the only two remaining names.

Unlike every other battle, Chase and Sora's was a mix of dodging and sword swinging. They blocked a few of each other's blows and took a few hits each. Looking at the audience at Kairi's face for a brief second, Sora slid on the wet sand as Chase delivered a blow.

Sora jumped up to dodge but did not land so neatly as he staggered, eventually getting his big yellow shoes stuck in the seaweed nearby, his head falling face first into the ocean. His sword had fallen out of hand.

"Sora you big dummy," giggled Kairi, rushing to help him up as Sora shook his wet spiky hair, looking surprised at his sudden lost. "You got careless again."

"CHASE WINS!" said Luna.

"Wow," Alya commented. "That one was really close.. I'd say they were about even in swordsmanship… almost. I think Chase got a little lucky.."

"The sun's really high up now.. What time is it?" asked Nova suddenly.

Gizmo looked at his pocket watch. "It's 11 now."

"Oh!" said Luna. "I gotta make lunch~!" Kairi smiled. "I'll help!"

Selphie finished her two thousandth jump as she agreed to become referee while the two girls would cook on the other end of the island.

To speed things up a bit as lunch was only an hour away, the group agreed to end the tournament with a series of tag team matches. The winner of the tag team match would face Riku and his chosen partner, Sora. "I guess I'll try beat you another day," sighed Sora in disappointment.

Gizmo withdrew the names of the two teams. Mizu was partnered up with Dyne while Raven and Chase's names announced their side.

"Wow this really did become speed versus strength!" remarked Gizmo.

"LET IT BEGIN!" cheered Selphie as Chase tried to make a quick dive at Dyne. Dyne avoided pretty easily.

"Oh man this is gonna be a long one," said Alya, remembering her match.

"We'll see about that," said Raven, hearing Alya's remark as she tried to outmaneuver Mizu.

Raven and Chase went back to back as Dyne and Mizu seemed to be encircling them.

"SO FAST!" said Luna, looking up at the match every now and then. Kairi was also impressed as she helped Luna prepare.

"I'm gonna get dizzy from watching this," said Selphie.

Nova laughed as Mizu stopped to taunt Raven a bit. "You can't catch me!"

The others were all on the bridge watching the match from a safe distance in their tiny arena.

However, as the course of the match went into several minutes, Mizu's pattern changed and she was nowhere to be seen.

"WHERE IS MIZU?" said Dyne, looking around for a split second in concern for his partner.

Whack.

Dyne's weapon was smacked out of his in his brief moment of being worried about his partner, leaving him susceptible to Chase's quick blow. Dyne had been defeated.

Raven looked around too as she could not find her opponent.

Mizu dived at Raven from above. Raven could not block the blow in time. "Owwww!" said Raven, her eyes watering. She was still in the match however. Chase dealed a blow to Mizu just as she disappeared from the two's sight. Mizu was using the trees as they had chosen Riku's mini isle to be the spot for round two matches.

For every blow Mizu tried to deal toward one of the two, the other partner would be able to deal a single blow to Mizu as she had to recover from each hit. Eventually she lost due to being outnumbered, two to one.

Selphie clapped. "Well, that was exciting!" She gestured to Chase and Raven. "WINNERS!"

Kairi came back from the isle to hand out the watchers some mochi and daifuku. "Lunch is almost ready."

As Nova helped herself to a mango mochi, the juice inside squeezed out inside her mouth. She loved Luna's cooking and could hardly wait as she watched Sora and Riku brace their selves for the final match of the tournament.

Chase and Raven gave each other reassuring glances as the midnight blue haired boy murmured, "Let's do our best."

However, since Sora and Riku were already used to each other's moves and techniques, they already had a few moves of their own together.

Kairi noticed Riku acting strangely as he delivered another successful blow. She managed to get a glance from Sora, who gave a knowing smile.

Sora thought to himself as he remembered what Kairi said to him earlier. _"Don't you think Riku's acting a bit… too tough? He's more headstrong than usual." _

Kairi looked up from Riku to where he was glancing at.. Across the island to where Luna was finishing up cooking. She returned to Luna as Riku would make occasional glances in Luna's direction. Sora, in his naiveté had interpreted Riku's acting tough as just another way of teasing Sora at how he was once again gonna lose to Riku in the sword fight today.

_He keeps glancing at the food_, Sora thought to himself. He dealed another blow to Chase. _Riku sure must be hungry_. _I better wrap this one up, _Sora concluded, launching another swing from his sword.

After eating her fifth mochi (green apple!), Nova tapped Alya on the shoulder and suggested they help Luna out with lunch. The two set off across the bridge to where Luna and Kairi were cooking.

Riku did another swift hit on Raven as he heard from the distance of Alya scolding Nova to stop eating before the whole meal was prepared. He turned his head in that direction yet again while trying to dodge Raven's retaliation.

* * *

Thank you guys for reading!

-Lunamonki


	8. Fascinating

**A/N: **Hey guys! Sorry this is late...I know I promised it last month...but some of the parts took a longer time to write, than I thought it would. Anyways, on with the story! =D

Oh yah! Just as a heads up and a apology...I'm sorry for the blonde joke in this chapter...Luna tends to get kind of spacey sometimes...

Ah! Just a reminder, a person's POV is in italics or bold italics and are usually more than one paragraph.

**Disclaimer: **Kingdom Hearts, Disney, and any other Square Enix character belongs to their respectful owner. Any new Characters and plots, belong to AeroNox and I.

**Chapter VIII**

A young girl of about seven knelt next to a fraying blue backpack. It seemed as if she were trying to stuff a whole picnic into the poor little bag. Little juice boxes and small bottles of water were shoved among school books and folders. Packages of snacks and candy were also placed inside. Tiny bean bags were packed into one of the many side pockets. She continued her work, pushing aside things and placing more within. Finally satisfied, she carefully zipped up the bag, mindful not to force the zipper too much.

She was dressed in a pair of dark blue PJ's decorated with mini stars and crescent moons. Her hair was a medium length that fell until mid-back. Pulling a brush though her black hair, highlighted with silvery-blue streaks, she yawned and climbed into bed. Before turning onto her side and snuggling into the plush pillow, she counted the many glowing stars that were decorating her ceiling, then turning over and falling asleep. Hidden in the shadows stood a small boy, with sea green eyes, he watched silently as the scene changed.

It was a bright and sunny day. Big bunches of clouds floated in the sky providing tons of shade for those under it. Strong cool breezes flew about, keeping the heat of the day at bay. A little girl and her entourage took refuge under a huge leaning tree. Some climbed its sturdy branches and taking a seat, while others preferred the ground around the giant topiary. The small female being among those who had climbed, set her bag next to her along the trunk of the tree.

The bag seemed to be bursting at the seams. Opening it carefully, she proceeded to take out some drinks and snacks. Then, tossing or passing them to those that staked claim on the goodies. The little boy with the sea green eyes jumped up onto the tree. Taking careful steps, he went over to where the girl was sitting and took a seat next to her. In this place, she was the only familiar thing, even though no one could see him, and the fact that he hasn't even been able to talk to her. He sighed deeply. Opening his eyes, he was surprised to see a napkin bundle and aluminum can thrust under his nose.

"What?" he started. The fact that the girl he had been watching, is looking at him, was a bit surprising. Maybe he hadn't been invisible after all. "This is yours, why are you offering it to me?" he inquired. He watched as she gently shook her head and gave him a small smile.

"It's ok. You see my friends over there, the one in the red? I always bring an extra one for her. So I can just eat that one. She'll understand." She responded, pointing in the direction of one of her friends. Who was currently stuffing her mouth with a green piece of cake.

"Why…?" he asked. A completely confused expression crossed his face as he accepted the offering.

"Mommy always told me to take care of those around me. That it doesn't matter who or what they are. We are all brothers and sisters of the heart. Although I don't really understand what that means…" she scrunched her nose cutely. "I don't mind much though. When I give up things for them and see them smile in return, I get filled with so much happiness, I feel like I could fly or something!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms into the air, and indicating the people around her. "I'm just hoping one day they will do the same for others, as well." Smiling fondly and once more, she looked up towards the boy. He was a little bit taller that her after all.

"C'mon, try a little! I know you'd smile if you do~." She grinned up at him. Looking down at his hands, he placed the drink off towards the side for now. Carefully unwrapping the napkin, he found that a piece of…cake was it? It was lying innocently in the middle. The cake was a creamy green in color and swirled, with a thin strip of cream coating the inside of the spiral. "It's a green tea Swiss cake! It's one of my favorites…" supplied the girl as she looked up at him expectantly.

Staring at the foreign cake, he made a face and hesitantly took a bit out of it. The pastry was surprisingly good, despite the interesting flavor. It was actually refreshing in a way. A mildly sweet yet creamy flavor with a hint of tea assaulted his sense of taste. The cake itself had a dense sort of moistness to it that seemed as if it melted in his mouth. Looking up with wide eyes, he gave a wide smile.

"It really is good."

* * *

**_(Stars~)_**_ [Luna]_

_"-na…Luna…!" whispered a concerned voice, as someone gently shook me from my memories, not wanting to alert the others. It's been such a long time since, I've thought about that dream. I wonder why it popped up all of a sudden, considering the fact that I had it during my elementary days. Strangely, the only thing I could ever remember about that little boy was his sea green eyes and that silly yellow vest he wore. _

_"Ah! Sorry Kairi! I was just having a moment…" smiling gently at her I passed her a few containers from my bag. A few of my other cooking equipment were already sitting on the table; my friends took out this morning. Watching her go over and place the items upon it, I couldn't help but smile knowingly…she kept eying the small box-like structure, spinning something around and around in it. The box was about 1 ½ feet in height and width, and about two feet in length. One side was a glass door while the other sides were colored all white. On the top of the container were dark, white stripped panels. Mom got me one of these for the trip along with a few other knick knacks and whatnots. Seeing her turn around with a confused glint in her eyes, I interrupted, knowing what she was about to ask._

_"It's a solar powered oven~ it takes the rays of the sun and converts it into energy to use. In this case it's to roast the cow I put in it earlier this morning. It functions just like a regular oven; it just needs the sun instead of electricity." Grinning I handed her more plastic boxes. Before our camping escapades, I had to take a day to prep all the food…that way all we had to do was cook it. Although, it usually just ends up being me doing the cooking and the others doing what I tell them to. If they want to help out that is. _

_After Kairi took the containers, I rummaged around my bag again. **There they are!** Turning around just as she got back, I held up two aprons. "I don't know about you, but I tend to make messes…most of the time." Laughing I handed the one that was a lavender color, with little butterflies flitting about. Putting on the other one, which was a dark blue with white rabbits all over the place; I looked over to the other girl. She stood in front of the table, unsure of what to do._

_I couldn't help but think that maybe this was her first time. Walking up to her I gave a reassuring smile. "Don't worry! Teaching how to cook is my specialty. You'll do just fine I know it!" grinning at each other I began the learning process. It seems that showing her the basics and having her try them out, made it easy for her to understand. She was a great student, with her determination and then confidence to guide her, and my occasional advice. Watching her, I realized that I wished that my level of confidence was as high as hers. It seemed like she was able to do anything! _

* * *

**_(Yummy!)  
_**

While cooking, the two girls would occasionally look up to watch bits of the match. The red head was the only one to notice the frequent glances of one silver-haired boy. **_Riku would never let food distract him from observing another's battle, so why…_**_?_ Thought the girl as she glances to the other one next to her, who was mixing together some kind of dessert; it consisted of fruits and some kind of white jelly. Gears seemed to turn in her head as she thought of a plan to see if the dark haired girl likes anyone.

"Hey Luna, considering the tournament, who would you cheer for?" She asked, curious. The other female stood up from placing an air/water tight container in to the pool beside them.

"Everyone, of course!" Standing up with a different container in her hands, her lips turned up in a cheeky smile. "Well, I … um…don't like to pick favorites…so I usually go for the person who seems to be losing." Blinking owlishly, Kairi couldn't help but think. **_Well, that plan failed miserably… _**"I like to do my best to treat everyone fairly…although; I do get pretty selfish at times." Giving a shy smile she gently offered what was inside the now open container.

The red headed girl poked her head over the top of the rather large container. Seeing that it was halved down the middle, separating two different types of mochi; on one side were many assorted colors, while the other was a plain white. Deciding to be on the safer side, she picked up a white one and popped it in her mouth, chewing. A wonderful color of flavors burst throughout her mouth. The strawberry on its own was very sweet. Coating it was a thin layer of honey and then the bland white mochi over it.

"It's good huh?" the other girl beamed. "I had to deviate from the original recipe, since most of my friends don't like the sweet red bean paste…" her voice came little downtrodden. Taking a plate form her bag, she placed some of the modified ichigo daifuku on it. "This way we don't have to worry about not getting any later!" She exclaimed as she placed the cover on the box and passed it to Kairi. "Can you take these to the others? It's just for them to snack on for now, that way they're not super hungry later." She asked. Nodding the slightly shorter girl took the container and walked over to those watching the battle between the first set of teams.

The battle between the four friends seemed pretty heated. They were fighting in pairs. The cool headed, midnight haired Chase, and the violet haired, studious Raven, was against the two fastest in the band of friends; Dyne and Mizu. The hyperactive girl, Mizu and the dirty blonde, Dyne, easily outmatched the other two in speed, but lacked in the amount of power that they had. Unfortunately that speed didn't help them very much, since they weren't working together. Once the strength pair knocked down one of the teammates, the other followed soon after.

"Lunch is almost ready!" exclaimed Kairi a big smile on her face, as she held out the box of treats from Luna. Everyone took a small break before the last match to rest and munch a little on the small treats. Kairi stayed for just a bit longer to watch the beginnings of the next match. Riku started the match by launching a flurry of attacks upon Raven, who just barely had a chance to block or dodge them all. Jumping back he looked up and was caught off guard, as he searched for something off to the distance. Getting smacked in the arm had him refocusing on the battle at hand.

She looked towards Sora, and shortly locked eyes with him; they each gave the other a knowing smile. Although the short haired girl suspected that they were thinking of totally different things, concerning their somewhat distracted friend. Walking away, Kairi had high hopes of winning the race that the three of them were going to have later that day. After all, the boys had to be tired after all the fights that they participated in. She didn't want to have to deal with some weird boat name like Excalibur or High wind…

* * *

**_(What in the…?) _**_[Alya]_**_  
_**

_Seriously? I couldn't believe what I was seeing…or well not supposed to be seeing, that is. Nova and I came down here to help with finishing the rest of lunch. But all I'm currently seeing right now was that monkey tailed girl, not so subtlety picking on all the food… Stirring the veggies that Luna gave me I couldn't help the reprimand that passed my lips. "Nova! We're supposed to be helping, not stuffing our faces!" This girl, I swear… Despite my earlier views, it was a bit comical to see her trying to eat the food without anyone noticing it. She was the one that wanted to help too…_

_"Haha~! It's okay Alya, she just won't get any food, later, if she continues." Chided Luna, a dark undertone was laced in her voice as she started to put together the sandwiches. The sandwiches consisted of juicy roast beef with sautéed mushrooms and sweet onions, mixed with just a bit of gravy. The mixture was placed between two pieces of toasted bread. Mine was special though, being that I'm vegetarian. I'm glad that Luna didn't forget about me and my condition. My sandwich consisted of the vegetables that I was currently cooking, with vegetable based gravy. _

_Nova hearing the threat in Luna's voice decided to finally stop trying to consume everything and help out, like she had originally planned. She spooned some kind of fruit and jelly dessert…almond float was it? Into small bowl/cups, while Kairi and Luna started to wrap the bottom halves of the sandwiches. I think it's, to keep the inside from going all over the place. _

_Following their lead, I fixed up my sandwich the same way. Some salad was made on the side, in case anyone wanted. Finishing up the preparations, we cleaned the dirty dishes and helped to put them in Luna's bag. I watched as Kairi's eyes got wide at all the seemingly random things that were going in there. Covering the food, we went to watch the end of the last battle. _

* * *

**_(FAITO~!)_**

Balmy breezes surrounded a small group of friends. Battle noises filled the air as the spectators watched intently on the goings on. "Riku's toying with her…" commented the red headed girl that wore a white spaghetti strap outlined in the same lavender as her skirt.

"How can you tell?" asked a long, light green haired girl with matching emerald eyes, named Alya. She, like the others was watching the bout closely.

"When he fights with Sora, he doesn't do all those fancy flips and counter attacks. He-! Ah! Just like that!" exclaimed Kairi as Riku, flipped into the air, spinning so that he had easy access to the girl on the ground below, and giving her a good whack on the shoulder. A change o f pace was noticed between the competitors when the more seasoned combatants started to get the upper hand.

Riku was pushing the purple haired girl, Raven, back with swift forceful strikes. On Sora's side, he and Chase seemed to be evenly matched. That is, until he started to launch short rapid strikes towards Chase's weaker spots. The darker haired boy could barely keep up with the fast strikes, with his diminishing defenses. Getting a hard hit to the chin sent him flying a few feet away, looking as if it hurt a lot. Not to mention that harsh landing on his back. A huge grin from the spiky haired boy signified that he had won. Holding out a hand he helped Chase back on his feet; together they walked off to join the others on the sidelines.

Raven, being better at powerful strikes than speedy ones, was having a hard time keeping up with Riku's attacks. Parrying and dodging as best she could, she unfortunately didn't anticipate for the older boy to get within her struggling guard.

"This is it!" Riku shouted, as he quickly disarmed her and sent her falling unto the sand.

"Sora x Riku win!" cried Selphie from the sidelines. All around sounds of cheers and encouragement erupted. At this time Mizu excitedly went around and started to cover everyone in a spray that smelled of fresh citrusy fruits. While doing this she yelled of lunch being ready and hooraying as they all made their way towards the awaiting food.

* * *

**_(FOOD?) _**_[Chase]_**_  
_**

_Savory melt in your mouth beef with the sweetness of the onions and earthiness of the mushrooms, assaulted my senses. A hint of gravy was detected with the slight nutty flavor the warm toasted wheat bread provided. _

**_Waaaah! Boy have I missed this…_**_I couldn't help the wistful smile from crossing my face. Nostalgic feelings were bubbling up after all. This was one of the things that I missed the most since Luna and I broke up. She loved to cook, so every other day she took turns with her mom. They were the only girls in the family, so they worked together a lot. _

_We had decided to stay friends because of our many differences, and all the fights we used to have. Don't get me wrong, we had a great time together, but there were too many disagreements in the end. Despite the separation, I can't help the lingering feelings that keep popping up. _

_"So…tell us more about yourselves." came a voice near me. Sora was sitting there, with a smile on his face, looking at us expectantly, as he took a bite of his sandwich. _

_"You mean our likes, hobbies and stuff?" asked Alya's voice to my right. _

_"Yah!" exclaimed Kairi, excited. _

_"Maybe we should go around in a circle, then, so it's easier for everyone," I suggested staring at Luna, trying to signal her to take the initiative. I couldn't help noticing that she was sitting comfortably next to Riku. This was a bit strange for her. Considering, the fact that she was usually very uncomfortable around new people. Besides she usually sits between Nova and Gizmo. I knew she was about to ask me something very obvious then. Her eyes locked with mine with a questioning look as she placed her still full spoon, back into her bowl of dessert. She started._

_"Why are you staring at me like th-" _

_"Oh…God! She's having a blonde moment guys~" teased Dyne playfully, laughing lightly as the we tried our hardest to hide our own small amusement. **At least someone caught the signals…**_

_"O-Oh! You wanted me to start…" embarrassed she hid part of her face into her scarf. Her cheeks turned a nice, pleasant pink color. "Um…Well," she started. "I like to cook of course!" She smiled gently. _

_"Luna's baking is the best though!" Mizu added, taking a sip of juice from her almond float. _

_"It's not that good…" commented the other girl, turning her head away, a tiny unnoticeable blush rising on her cheeks. "Anyways, my family and friends are very important to me. If you mess with them, you'll have to deal with me!" As funny as it sounds...she's pretty protective of us, when the need arrives. "When there's time, I like to sit down and read books. I love to stare up at the night sky and watching the clouds during the day~" she sighed, dreamy eyed. When it comes to music I like to listen to things that relax me, things I can sing along to that'll both keep me up and put me to sleep. I also love cute little bunnies…" she finished lovingly. _

_"No," I interjected. "You obsess over them~" taunting her, I gave a knowing smile. _

_"…yes! Yes I do!" covering her eyes, she started her fake crying, ranting all the way. "I just love those long ears, whether they're floppy or not. And their big feet are just so fun to play with! Ahhhhhh~! Not to mention their, oh so soft, smooth, fluffy, cuddly fur!" she continued with a fond smile._

_ Despite the act she really did love rabbits. Glancing over to the girl next to her, I just couldn't stop the grin from crossing my face. **Luna is sooo going to get it!** _

_"I-I just want to hug-" chortled Luna as she was interrupted by the annoyed girl next to her._

_"Luna, Shush your mouth already!" cried Raven as she gave the rabbit lover a good shove sideward. Right into Riku's lap, as he ate a spoonful of dessert. Laughing whole-heartedly, she seemed to be very comfortable in her position. _

_ "Need something?" Riku asked playfully, as he grinned down at her. Luna's eyes shot open wide, as she bolted upright from his lap. Only to fold into herself, clutching her head in one hand, while the other rubbed circles on the top. _

_ "I-I'm sorry! A-are you okay?" She apologized, turning to look at the person whose chin she just crashed into. She was always worrying about the other hurt person, before she worried about herself._

_ Riku, who was rubbing his chin, nodded an affirmative; a smirk crossed his lips. "Haha~ you're easily flustered huh?" laughing amiably. _

_ "That and she's really gullible too sometimes…" Nova stated, scooping up the last remains of her almond float, only to grab another helping. _

_ "Nova!" came Luna's cry of disdain. _

_ "Stop teasing her already, guys. It's Ravens turn." declared Alya; coming to the girl's defense. "Thanks Alya" came the grateful reply. _

_ "Luna, what did I say? It's my turn now." chastised Raven, as she started. "I like dragons! The ones that can fly, not those land ones that just stomp around on the ground. The ones that swim aren't so bad either. Games where you use medieval weapons, like swords, spears, and bows and arrows. When Luna's baking cookies, I like to help, especially the ones that require cookie cutters. It's so much fun! And then, there's striving to be the best!" She exclaimed, pounding a fist on her thigh for emphasis. _

_ "Yah, in athletics and academics," laughed Gizmo. He was right though, she was the best in those departments but when it comes to cleaning or actually cooking, be prepared for a disaster. She wasn't super bad at them…but, let's just say, that it needed some hard work. _

_ Nodding enthusiastically, Mizu exclaimed, "Sleep! Don't forget that!"_

_ "And your love for craziness, too!" laughed Gizmo, his lips turning up in humor._

_ "What are you talking about? I hate crazy people! I'm normal okay!" exclaimed Raven in denial. _

_ "Nu-uh! Remember? We've had this conversation before. As a person, no one is normal. We each have a set of individual differences and uniqueness. If we as people were normal, then individuality is a myth! There can be normalcy in actions. Like when everyone sleeps, they sleep in a position comfortable to them. Or simple things, like, how everyone brushes their teeth, or even running their fingers through their hair." Luna expressed, nostalgic. _

_ "How are you normal anyway?" teased Dyne. "Remember that one time at the park with the water balloons? How you stuffed them in your br-"_

_ "Shush your mouth Dyne!" Raven exclaimed loudly, before anymore embarrassing things could spout from his mouth. "I know that, okay? I just…I just want to be normal…" came her feeble explanation. Blinking rapidly, Raven rubbed at her eyes. _

_ "Hahaha~! It looks like she's ready to sleep again!" Mizu playfully elbowed the other girl. _

_ "Mmm…She does like her sleep." Alya commented in a chaffing tone. Raven did like to take her naps. Much like how Gizmo does, only she does it when we're not really doing anything. **Hm…? Seems like Mizu's really excited…**_

_ "My turn! My turn!" came her high pitched cries, as she bounced around in her seat. I swear, it almost always seems like she's on sugar or something. "I love the colors of the rainbow! I like to play with ribbons, especially those gymnastic ones. I like how you can make them go round and round in spirals! And running! Gotta go fast~." exclaimed Mizu energetically. _

_ "Let's not forget climbing trees and random structures, and then jumping off of them." I commented dryly. Mizu liked to do **soo** many random things. A lot of times it was entertaining, and others you wonder, **really**? Sometimes, I wonder when she gets serious, or if she even does… I remember this one time we were on our way to school together, and she plucked a rather nice looking leaf off of a bush! Passing it to me, she said to keep it as a sign of our friendship. I couldn't tell if she was pulling my leg or not, but I decided to keep it anyway. _

_ "Yes that too." She nodded. "And bullies~ I hate them! If I see them I'll teach them a lesson!" She stated aggressively. "One day, when I'm older, I will join the army and protect the weak!" Fiery determination filled her eyes, as she thrust her fist into the air. _

_ "Woah! Calm down there, It's my time to shine alright?" a smirk crossed the dirty-blonde's face just before he was interrupted by the others. _

_ "That's so easy Dyne, you like to play games and drawing." interjected Alya. She calmly took a sip of water as if she hadn't done something wrong._

_ "Don't forget, he likes to snack on things as well. Oh! And the random things he tends to pick off of the ground." added Gizmo; finishing his sandwich. _

_ "And chocolate, he **hates** that…" emphasized Nova. Finishing off the rest of her dessert she grabbed some left over mochi; this time a peach flavored one._

_ "Thanks a lot guys…now I don't have anything to say!" Dyne sighed, a bit miffed. A glint flashed through his eyes as he slyly looked to Nova, through his peripherals. "Well, since Nova is next… She likes to go to those fancy café's where they have pastries and coffee/tea. She also like to eat yogurt, surfs the web a lot and listens to music. But the types of music vary depending on her mood." _

_ "What? No! I like to go to cafés in general. It doesn't have to be fancy or expensive…" affirmed Nova. "I also like to play video games, like you Dyne." She finished, helping herself to more mochi. _

_ "Nova doesn't like people who put others down to make themselves feel better." supplied Luna; seeing that Nova was focusing more on the remains of the leftover mochi. _

_ Those two girls, Nova and Luna, were practically sisters. They had similar likes and dislikes, but their personalities went opposite ways. Luna was more touchy feely and often times liked to hug people. She restrained herself for us though, cause she knows not all of us like to make physical contact. We do make exceptions though, like on her birthday or holidays. She also had a tendency to put others first and is very expressive. Nova, on the other hand, doesn't like a lot of human contact. She also keeps to herself, mostly. _

_ Gizmo was next. In a sense, we are kinda like brothers, like how Luna and Nova are 'sisters'. We know what the other person likes and doesn't like. We can sometimes finish each others sentences also. We are close enough to tell each other deep, dark secrets and not have to worry about the other spreading it around. _

_ Every one stared at him expectantly. "I like to learn new things. Like stuff that can help others and things that are just good to know. And…I dislike negativity. I can tolerate it though. Haha~ That's it, I can't think of anything more!" he laughed. _

_Hah…he's so modest. He can do way more than that, but he doesn't like to show off or brag. _

_ "Giz is a well rounded person." provided Raven. "He can cook basic things; like eggs, bacon and sausages. Playing the piano and singing along to it as well. He can also fix electronics and do a whole bunch of other stuff!" she finished, grinning._

_ "Mmhm… He likes to live on life. Always making the best of everyday, and making it count!" added Luna; stretching out her legs, and leaning on her arms. A fond smile crossed her face as she looked downwards. _

_ "Well, I guess it's my turn, huh?" stated Alya. "Mmm, I like to sing, acting out in plays, and reading books on magic!" she started. _

_ "You do like to read those huh, Alya?" I asked, never having the chance to before. _

_ "Yah, I think it's cause there's a chance that I might be able to do it." She clarified._

_ "Magic?" inquired Sora; his curiosity elated. **I'm a bit surprised, they've been so quiet up till now. **_

_ "Yes, magic…Where we come from it's abundant everywhere. It's in the plants, the ground beneath us, and even the air we breathe!" exclaimed Alya. "There is a condition for it though. Only those pure of heart and intentions can harness the power of magic. That's why where we live, there are so few that can use it, cause a lot of people are selfish and would use it for personal gain." She explained. _

_ "Why is that?" a confused Kairi asked. _

_ "It's because, back in the old days, hundreds and hundreds of years ago, dark wizards were common and not a lot of them used their magic in the right way. Because of their selfishness, they started a war… It's actually tied in to a legend that Luna knows very well." Gizmo said, giving Luna a pointed look._

_ "What? Why me?" she asked an incredulous look on her face. _

_ "It's because you know more than we do. Considering that the legend was passed down in your family." explained Raven, as if to a child. It's true though. Because Luna is a direct Descendant of one of the original warriors who fought in the war, as tradition the legend is passed down from generation to. _

_ "Haaa…Okay." Luna sighed resigned. "Let's see…In the land of Celescerne, in the time that the land was still whole, there were thirteen kingdoms. There were eleven on land, one floating on the sea, and one in the sky. People lived in harmony, governed under the light. Everyone and anyone could use magic. Despite this many people did not care to learn magic; content with their simple hardworking lives. Those who excelled had an abundant amount of light magic in them. They often shared their blessing with others, and spread their light all over, spreading joy and happiness everywhere."_

_ "But this didn't mean that there weren't those that have seen this power and wanted to harness it for their selves. These people became dark magic users and caused chaos wherever they went. Using magic for their own selfish reasons, they hurt others for their personal gain. Realizing this, one person took a stand. To not cause alarm to those around and especially, those insatiable self-seekers, they kept things underground. Only those who had proven themselves were chosen. This person was able to see the light in a person's soul and measured the person's loyalty and faith before making any decisions. Using this, said person started to use this test to gather close companions with the same ordeals. Granting this power to twelve others, they gathered followers and believers of the Light that were willing to fight."_

_"Not only did they create an underground army, but this new leader went and sought out the thirteen maidens of heart. These females did not know their title, and went about each day normally. Twelve of them were said to have the purest of heart, while the thirteenth, was called sovereign and had the most radiant heart of all. When all thirteen were brought together, the shining illumination of the sovereign of heart will bind them all together and open the door of light, if they so wish. But, if a person were to forcefully take these lights, they could open the door themselves. This was only possible as long as they had a key of some sort to unlock the power in the maidens' hearts. Thus, the reason why the leader was trying to gather them: to provide protection from the dark magic users. Though, not wanting to imprison them in a cage, the leader gave them a choice to fight for their freedom, to help with the first aid/healing, or to wait on the sidelines; protected in a castle."_

_"The war lasted for many, many years. There were little survivors for the warriors of light, but they had won. Five females, seven males, and one mice-like creature made up the last thirteen. These warriors were later named the Knights of heart. Because at the last moment, they protected the thirteen maidens of heart, who came together in hopes of using their power to seal off the light and protect it from those that wanted it for greed. They weren't only named knights of heart because of this but also because they fought their hardest for the light; one that everyone could still share."_

_"Because the maidens had sealed the light from those who were selfish, the only people who could use magic were those pure of heart and intention. Meaning, that it was only to be used for others; by people who put the well being of those around them before their selves. Not only was the light sealed, but the land was broken into many parts, and the world was splint and the pieces that fell away were never seen again. The peace was only made to last until new, strong willed warriors came together to gather the pieces and make the world whole once again." Finishing the long story, Luna smiled, glad to be done. _

_"What Luna failed to mention, was that, anyone who was a descendant of a Knight of Heart, were able to perform magic, as long as they had the heart for it." Dyne included, smirking at the relaxing girl. _

_"Yah, and what Alya means is that, since it was so long ago, the bloodlines are super diluted now. So, almost anyone could be qualified. The only reason why we know Luna's a descendant is because it's mandatory in her family line, to tell this legend to their children, in hopes of keeping the truth alive." nodded Raven. _

_"Hey, ya know, my grandmother told me a similar story when I was younger. There were people who fought for the light and because of it; the one world was split into many." commented Kairi, a thoughtful, look on her face. _

_"Well, since we are on the topic of magic…would Luna's bag happen to be magic as well?" examined Riku, eyeing the bag out. _

_"That's right, because Luna naturally stuffs a lot of things in her bag; they tend to only last a year. Then her mom has to buy a new one. Because of this, her mom got her the magically enhanced one instead. It turns out that she has a distant relative that can use magic. The bag can fit anything in it, as long as it can fit through the mouth of the bag." I explained. _

_"Food can be put in there for up till a year before they start to spoil normally." added Dyne._

_"Yah! That's why she doesn't like to keep fresh meats and whatnot in there, cause if we don't eat them then it gets forgotten, and makes her bag all yucky smelling…" Mizu chimed in._

_"Yup, that's why she usually brings just enough of them, so that we can finish them off more quickly. She usually likes to bring more of the fruits and things, they're her favorite. Bu,t before we get into anything else though, let's finish introductions, since I'm the last person…" I sweat dropped. Boy did it take forever to get to me! Then again it does take us forever to finish simple things together. "Um, let's see…I like good food, specifically Luna's when I can." I smiled, seeing her blush a deep color. **I can't believe I can still do that…maybe she has lingering feelings as well…? ** The weird, look Riku gave didn't go unnoticed, especially, by Sora and Kairi. They both sent each other knowing looks. _

_"I like to generally have fun and just observing things." I said, thinking of all the times I used to watch Luna eat. It would always make her embarrassed, but I liked it. You could tell when she's really enjoying something and you could tell she had a real passion for food. "Above all other things, I absolutely **hate** spiders!" Staring at the ground I couldn't help but think that they were the creepiest things ever!_

_"Don't forget mommy~ you like to take care of us too!" exclaimed Mizu laughing excitedly. _

_"Mommy?" asked the other four. (Sora, Riku, Kairi, Selphie)_

_"It's his nickname. Because he was always nurturing and took care of us like a mom, we named him that." explained Gizmo. _

_"So, was there a Daddy?" Kairi inquired, as she looked at everyone. _

_"That was Luna." Stated Dyne; folding up his used items from lunch._

_ "Only cause they used to go out!" stated Raven, as she too, started to gather her things. _

_"Yah, we're not going out anymore. There were way too many differences, and the fact that we started to fight a lot, didn't sit well with both of us. So instead of breaking up and never seeing each other again, we decided to stay friends." I finished. It would have been kind of weird if we broke up, not wanting to see the other, but still hung out together. These people were her second family after all. I couldn't take that away from her. Sometimes I wonder though…what would have happened if Luna decided she didn't want to see me at all? She was friends with everyone longer than I was. It wouldn't have been fair for her to abandon her friends just cause she never wanted to see me again. But I wonder what I would have done…if I had to leave them. Would I have made new friends, or become a loner? Swirling thoughts clouded my mind, as everyone finished their lunch. _

* * *

**_(That's the end of it)_**

A comfortable silence covered the group. "Do you guys really think we'll be able to find Blaz and Eden?" asked Alya softly, in a concerned tone. Looking towards her feet, a frown slowly marred her features. Despite the circumstances and the fact that, everyone in the band of friends was worried about the two missing people in their group, Alya was more concerned for Blaz. Everyone knew it was because of the crush she had on him. Nova being closer to the other boy was, more concerned for Eden than the rest of the people. Nova and Eden knew each other way before the boy had joined the little band of misfits.

"I'm sure of it. If you guys came from another world, just like Kairi, then they probably just got separated along the way, and ended up somewhere else." assured Riku. Alya nodded, turning her face away, still seeming a bit unsure.

Luna seemed to feel discomfort in the tense atmosphere. Deciding to break it, she took a deep breathe and nervously smiled. "Hey guys! Why don't we clean up now? That way we can finish all the things we want to before dinner comes around."

"Oh! That's right! We still have a few things to do before tomorrow, right guys?" answered Kairi, turning to look at the two boys on either side of her.

"C'mon Sora!" complied Riku, gathering his things and giving them to Luna, who had procured a plastic bag from her shoulder pack. The others too, gathered their things and disposed of them. Gizmo and Raven went to help with the remaining dishes and tossed the used water into the bushes, when they were finished. From there everyone just agreed to do their own things and to meet up at supper. Sora and Riku went off without Kairi, as she had forgotten to do something. The trio of best friends went and started to play in the sand. Gizmo and Mizu went their own way, while Luna and Nova, chatted a bit before branching off also. Chase followed Selphie, wondering why she always went off on her own, instead of hanging out with Sora and Kairi.

* * *

**_(Boats…)_**

Nova and Luna were about to set off together, intent on exploring the island and its mysterious nooks and crannies. Earlier that morning they had spotted a dark tunnel opening. It was situated on one of the rock walls, near where they had slept the night before. Despite her fear of heights, Luna's curiosity overrode the feeling; the need to figure out where it went was stronger. Being on top of things didn't necessarily make her scared it was being near the edge, with no railing to protect from falling, and plunging to her death.

"Hey Luna!" cried a voice behind them. Turning they were greeted by Kairi, as she jogged to catch up. "Can I bother you to help me think of a good boat name? I figured I might have a chance at winning today's race… since the boys seem kind of tired." She explained.

"Um…Okay… How about-" Luna paused, giving a look to Nova. Catching the other girl's eye, they grinned. "Crusader!" they both exclaimed at once, beaming at the other.

"Haha~ Okay! Thanks you two!" Kairi lightly laughed as she left to meet with her two friends. The two girls turned and continued their original destination. They talked and laughed at random things along the way.

* * *

**_(It has to be Grand!)_**

Waves crashed lazily upon the light colored sand. Soft laughter filled the air as three teenagers surrounded a growing sand structure.

"Dyne! You have to build the wall higher!" cried out the violet haired girl, as she lugged a bucket full of wet sand over. "We have to make a good defense against the water" she stated. Grabbing her wet 'cement' from the bucket, she used them to reinforce the walls. Nodding, Dyne added more moist sand to what would become the Keep, before going back to the walls and fixing them. The trio of the group spent the rest of their day building a grand sand castle. One that would make their friends gasp in awe.

* * *

**_(It's sooo Awesome! C'mon~)_**

Cool gentle breezes ruffled dark grey hair playfully as the owner dozed peacefully against a tall coconut tree. Soft rhythmic crunching noises were steadily rising in volume, accompanied by slightly labored breathes.

"Gizmo! Gizmo! C'mon~!" I have something great to show you! Hurry, Hurry!" exclaimed an excited Mizu, her bubblegum curls bounced around merrily. The dark haired boy blinked sleepily, as he blearily looked up at her. His eyes opened in shock as the clearly, smaller girl yanked him to his feet. Running, the small female dragged the still waking boy, past the trio, whose sand castle was taking on a very nice feature.

Mizu pulled him towards the waterfall pool, and pulled back some hanging vines, to reveal a small opening in the wall. Motioning for him to go in first, he got on his knees and crawled in. A dimly lit cave met his gaze. Numerous vines and large roots came down from the ceiling of the tunnel. Two small hands firmly placed themselves onto his back and started to push him forward.

"This isn't the best part. It's more inside!" she quietly exclaimed. Reaching the end of the tunnel the boy stared in awe.

"Whoa…" came his excited whisper. At the end of the tunnel was a small cave. Foliage draped the walls here and there, with etched drawings in between. Light filtered in from an opening at the top of the cave. "This place reminds me of one of those tribal caves at home…" commented Gizmo. Hearing a scratching noise, he turned to see that his friend was drawing small figures unto one of the somewhat large boulders that littered the cave floor. Following her lead, he picked up one of the larger rocks from the ground and helped Mizu draw the rest of their rag-tag group of friends.

Little fancy fonts were drawn out for each name, along with a symbol representing the person's signature item. As they finished, Mizu wrote out a name to call the little group by. "…What? Why Messiah?" questioned Gizmo, as he put some finishing touches onto one of the pictures.

"I wanted our drawn selves to be heroes! See? How I drew Raven with a spear and Blaz with a magical staff and everyone else too!" she declared smiling happily as she started drawing flowers in between the other drawings. Among their drawings of their friends the had also included the new ones they had just made.

Finishing with the final touches on the boulder, Gizmo went to pull the bubbly girl away just before she drew some flowers around a picture of a boy and girl. "C'mon Mizu, let's go practice that swordplay they taught us today, or something." The boy sighed, as he dragged a dejected girl behind him.

"Aww…but it's so much fun…" she quietly protested. Some things were just not meant to be touched.

* * *

**_(…Do we have to?)_**

Cawing of sea birds could clearly be heard on the wind. Two figures stood on a platform situated next to a wooden structure. Near them were the beginnings of a bridge. Both were waiting for their third member.

"Hey, if I win, ahh~ I'm captain!" started the dark spiky haired boy, gesturing to himself. Looking over to the boy he stood next to, he continued. "And if you win-"

"I get to share a paopu with Kairi." interrupted Riku in a serious manner.

"Huh!" cried Sora incredulously, as he turned to face Riku.

The taller boy, too, turned to look at the other. "Deal? The winner gets to share a paopu with Kairi." A playful lilt underlined his tone.

"Wha…Wait a minute…" Sora looked off to the side, an unsure look passing over his face.

"I have a feeling that she'll want to race too, this time around…" Riku started. "To tell you the truth, I'm pretty tired." His shoulders slumped.

"Yah, I am too…" Sora agreed, changing his stance into one that was more comfortable. "Shall we just let her win?" he inquired, looking over to the other boy.

"We will." Replied the taller male a mischievous grin fixed itself on his features. "But, she's going to have to work for it." He affirmed a coy grin alighting his features. Realizing what he had meant, Sora smiled widely. The smirks of the two boys were quickly wiped away as the girl they were waiting for burst through the doors behind them.

"Okay guys, I'm ready! I want to race today too!" She expressed, giving them wide pleading eyes.

Shooting each other knowing looks, Sora affirmed, nodding his head. "Sure Kairi, just as long as you understand that we won't be going easy on you." He specified, as he prepared for the race.

"I understand…" she complied. A slightly crestfallen look crossed her face. Maybe this wouldn't be as easy as she had originally thought. "Okay, on three!" she confirmed, as they all got into ready positions. Taking a leaf out of Mizu's book, she decided to forgo the countdown. "THREE!" she shouted, gaining a head start. Looking to each other, the two boys laughed as they followed the giggling girl up ahead.

* * *

**_(Adventure Time~)_**

"C'mon Luna! Almost there." Encouraged the monkey tailed girl wearing a puffy, indigo hat that had a huge button with a X on the stitching. Taking one of the other female's hands, she helped pull her up to the semi-small square tunnel they had wanted to explore. There was no way Luna was going to jump of the coconut tree stationed, right across from the hole in the wall. That's why they went in search of things to climb on that were easily carried. Together they had scrounged up a few empty crates and barrels to stack.

Standing at the mouth of the cave the scarf wearing girl held out her hand waiting expectantly, as the other girl stared at it confused. "We'll hold hands~ That way we don't lose each other. And then we can run our free hands along the walls, to see if there are any extra tunnels or something." supplied Luna, a big smile crossing her features. A fond smile crossed Nova's face as she nodded and interlaced her fingers with Luna's, both taking steps into the dark tunnel.

"Well, at least there aren't any of those creepy, looming shadow things trying to reach out to us. Like that one time my cousin locked us in that huge dark freezer…" sighed Luna relieved.

"That's true, it's just all black now, right?" asked the other girl, as they continued their trek.

"Yup, mostly. I can see this sparkly, glittering stuff all over the place." The bunny-eared hat wearer observed.

"What…? I don't see any of that stuff…It's just black to me." stated the tail wearer, skeptically.

"Oh…I guess that's just me then…I wish you could see them though~ they remind me of little speckles of light, like the stars in the night sky!" Luna quietly exclaimed. "Yah know…I've been wondering why this place is called Destiny Islands. Wouldn't you question it also?" she asked, turning to face the other girl despite the darkness that prevented them from seeing each other.

"I do, but there's no use dwelling on it. We're still not too sure on where we are yet." chastised the slightly shorter female.

"Mmm…I guess you're right. The only way to go is forward!" grinned the sky blue eyed girl. Continuing on, they were eventually able to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Tugging on Nova's hand, Luna exclaimed. "C'mon! The exit's close!"

"Wait, Luna! It's Dark we might-!" a scuffling sound was heard. The sudden disappearance of the obviously excited girls hand confirmed the action. That and the fluttering shadow at the mouth of the tunnel. "-trip…" she finished to no one in particular. Sighing she continued her way to the exit.

* * *

**_(Whoopsie Daisy…) _ **_[Riku]  
_

_Upon reaching the star tree checkpoint, a flicker of movement caught my attention at the mouth of the tunnel, which was right next to the star tree. Next thing I knew the dark-haired girl with the rabbit hat, Luna, came flying out! Her eyes were clenched shut and her arms were held out in front of her braced for impact. The force of her flight sent both of us onto the ground. "You okay?" I laughed; as her eyes shot wide open, like it did earlier today at lunch. Pushing herself away, she started to apologize profusely. It was a little hard to understand considering the fact that it was in bits and pieces._

_"I-I'm sorry! Nova and I- we were exploring the tunnel. She tried to warn me, but I didn't listen. Then I tripped, a-and flew! A-and then! KSHEW!" she exclaimed hastily, clapping her hands together, to signify our collision._

_"Good thing I was here then, huh? You could have fallen a ways down." I said, watching as she took notice of where she was. Fear seemed to saturate her being as she moved to clutch the protruding trunk of the star tree. _

_"She's afraid of heights…" a voice sounded near the tunnel opening. Sighing, Nova stood there, a light exasperated look on her face. "You should go and finish your race. I can take her back from here. We just wanted to see where the tunnel leaded to." She nodded reassuringly. _

_"It's okay, this let's me have a legitimate reason for losing. C'mon, let's help her down." I suggested looking at the girl with the irrational fear of heights. _

_With a little nudging and encouragement from Nova and I, we were able to get the timid girl down from the high perch. She calmed down considerably once her feet touched solid ground. As they accompanied me back to the start line, the two made up random stories about what could have happened. They included the possibility of flying and the ability to see in the dark, and other nearly impossible things to imagine. The ideas were so ridiculous I couldn't help but laugh along with them. We greeted Sora and Kairi with fascinating explanations, before Sora went off to finish his list of things to do. I stayed with the girls and just relaxed. _

* * *

**_(Hey…Can I eat that?)_**

Kairi was finishing off her good luck charm, when Luna came into view. "Ne, Kairi? Do you think you could teach me how to make that too?" she asked, turning a hopeful gaze to the red haired girl.

"Sure, you might need some supplies though…I have some extra shells, but not enough string, and you also need something to put in the middle." She said, gathering her extra shells. Rummaging through her bag, Luna procured a somewhat large box, labeled 'craft things'. Opening it, they saw a variety of knick knacks. From it Luna pulled out some leather string, a few beads, and a charm. The charm was in the shape of a crescent moon, with a rabbit in the inside curved part. Once everything needed was taken out, Kairi instructed the other girl on how to put the pieces together. "According to legend, sailors used to make charms out of these, thalassa shells to bring good luck and ensure a safe voyage." She commented, putting the finishing touches on her charm as Luna started on hers.

"Hey! Are you guys making cookies?" exclaimed the almost forgotten girl. Nova couldn't help her curiosity, she was getting a bit hungry and was currently doing nothing at the moment. Placing her nose near the beginnings of Luna's charm, she took a sniff. "Aww…can't you guys make some yummy treats instead?" asked a pleading Nova.

Laughing Luna pointed to her bag. "There's some green tea cake in there if you like." She stated. Turning around, the bunny lover offered some to Riku, who was reclined against a tree, content with just enjoying the view, for a moment. As Nova successfully pulled out a few cakes, recognition flashed briefly though Riku's eyes. Nodding in acceptance, he received a treat, and slowly ate it, relishing in its taste. Kairi stared at him curiously; she had never seen him eat anything like that before…

* * *

**_(Who in the world…)_**

Upon entering the cave, Sora noticed right away the new drawings, upon the boulder near the entrance. Smiling warmly, he picked up one of the rocks littering the floor, he wrote 'The weirdest friends ever' above them. When he was finished, he turned to the picture of a younger him and a seemingly messy haired girl. Thinking back to when they were younger, the spiky haired boy remembered how he and Kairi ad drawn each other. Sitting on the ground, he started to draw something in. In the finished product, the drawn version of himself was now offering a paopu fruit to the girl.

Hearing a shuffling noise behind him, the boy gasped before quickly getting to his feet. "Wh-Who's there?" turning he came face to face with a dark hooded figure.

"I've come to see the door to this world." rumbled a deep mysterious voice. The sound sent shivers down his spine.

"Huh?" asked Sora, a little freaked out about the weird guy standing a bit a ways from himself.

"This world has been connected." continued the cloaked figure, seeming to be just watching the male before him.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" stuttered the boy.

"Tied to the darkness…soon to be completely eclipsed." The figure went on, as if Sora wasn't saying anything at all.

"Well, whoever you are, stop freaking me out like this!" exclaimed the smaller male. Who by now was able to gain just a bit of courage to stand up to the stranger. "Huh? Wh-where did you come from?" he questioned, just realizing that there was no notice of this person's entry, until he had heard the shuffling noise.

"You do not yet know what lies beyond the door." chastised the person.

"So, you're from another world!" realized Sora.

"There is so very much to learn. You understand so little." said the mysterious figure, ignoring all of the smaller male's outbursts.

"Oh yah? Well you'll see. I'm going to get out and learn what's out there!" the boy cried out, a determined look on his face, gesturing widely with his hands.

"A meaningless effort." The stranger paused. "One, who knows nothing, can understand nothing." He stated as Sora glanced towards the door. Turning back the spiky haired boy realized that the mysterious, cloaked figure had disappeared.

* * *

**A/N:** Well, that's the end of this chapter. I'm glad to have finally gotten this one out...but not to proud of how it turned out. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed the small filler, and got to know the characters a bit more.

On another note...I realized that I mixed some of my characters up...I'll be fixing that soon. Sorry if you get confused! Anyways...

**11/4/11:** YEAH! xD Finally revised it and fixed some parts i was iffy about...=D

Thank you for reading!

-Lunamonki =D


	9. What's it Like?

**A/N: Whew…this chapter is finally out…so close to two months late. ~_~ There were some difficulties and now I'm writing this alone! xD the next chapter will probably come out early tomorrow morning. I just have one more part for that one. But anyways~ Merry Belated Christmas everyone and a very Happy new years to you as well! Thank you so much for your patience and sorry this chapter wasn't very well written. I'll come back and revise it when I'm not so stressed out….xD **

* * *

Chapter IX

"So…you really do love to jump rope, huh?" inquired the boy with midnight hair. His bluish-purple eyes glanced towards the younger girl sitting beside him. The two companions were sitting amongst the trunk of the Paopu tree. After the group of friends departed from each other, instead of exploring or joining the others, the young male accompanied the shorter female in her musings.

"I do! Besides it helps me get my daily exercise." came the short haired girl's somewhat languid reply. The two had been talking for a few hours now, just waiting to be called for supper. Behind them the distant sounds of their companions floated by. Tinkling of faint laughter and slight harshness of small scoldings danced upon the wind, as the group of friends below set about building a campfire around the beach.

"Ah! Can you do those neat back flips and tricks like the pros can?" questioned the hoodie wearer, a little excited. In the warm heat, the sleeves of his hoodie were rolled up to his elbows. His black fingerless gloves held a skull symbol and seemed to glow darkly in the sunlight. The dark color seemed to greatly contrast with the pale skin of his forearms.

"Mmm…not quite yet. But, I've been practicing a lot with it!" Selphie cheerfully cried. "A friend of mine used to help me with the back flips. It was a part of his unique fighting style. He's not here anymore though…" her voice trailed off, as she delved into her melancholic thoughts. It wasn't hard to see that she was missing someone dearly.

The older boy turned to look over at the girl beside him. Becoming a little heavy hearted, he scooted closer. Having been in the same boat before, he knew what she was feeling. "What happened? Chase asked softly. A gentle nostalgic smile seemed to cross her features as she reminisced about the boys she used to play with. An amiable wind softly blew by, tossing their tresses playfully around. Familiar sensations blossomed within the boy as he stared at the rather adorable sight before him.

"None of us really knows. The adults just tell us that they went home." concluded the bright eyed female. "I really love this place, it's so beautiful! But, sometimes I feel as if I didn't come from here either. My two friends and I, we just woke up here one day, with no memories of what we did before, or even where we came from. Unlike Sora and Riku, who were born here, and Kairi who recently moved here." she added, a little disconcerted as she looked down towards her feet.

Leaning forward and moving a bit awkwardly, Chase placed himself in a position where he was staring up at the distraught girl next to him. "Don't get upset~" he grinned up at her, ruffling her chestnut locks around. "It may be sometime in the far future, but as long as you guys think of each other often, I promise, you'll see each other again." He assured sitting back in place. "Hehe… Remember that one friend we were asking about, Blaz? Before the two of us joined this crazy little group, it was just me and him. That was until he moved away. Afterward, we lost touch with and it was _years_ before we got to see each other again. He's been back for only half a year and he's missing again." joked the midnight haired boy, light-heartedly. Chase missed his companion, and knew that if the same thing happened to him as well, then they would eventually cross paths once more.

Laughing softly Selphie nodded her head, agreeing. "Okay then, I'll believe you."

Turning once more to the girl next to him, he grinned cheekily. "You better!" he teased, nudging her shoulder with his, the sides of their hands touching. "Besides, I don't see how your friends would forget someone like you. You're so…exuberant after all." He taunted a mischievous smile upon his face. A splash of red flew across her face, as she roughly nudged him back causing him to fall over. Both young teens burst out laughing as the older boy climbed back onto the tree and they both settled into a comfortable silence.

…

"Flirting again, eh, Chase?" giggled a female voice behind them. The two upon the tree swiftly turned towards the voice, twin blushes upon their faces. One for being caught and the other out of embarrassment. The scarf wearing girl smiled fondly, those two were just so cute! "C'mon you two it's time for dinner! Everyone's waiting to start." She laughed with a playful grin before she ran off.

A look of horror plastered itself onto Chase's face, for he had caught that look from Luna before she bolted. It usually meant trouble for the one's it was aimed at. "Let's go Selphie! B-Before she blabs to everyone or something!" Exclaimed Chase, a little panicked. He didn't want the others to tease him all day long…it was like…endless torture. Thus, the midnight haired boy gave chase, while the green-eyed girl stood back for a bit before blushing and taking off after them.

Needless to say, the slightly older boy caught up to the rabbit lover easily and by some unconventional means, stopped her from telling everyone what had aspired. Meaning that he tackled her to the ground and then he proceeded to mercilessly tickle her until she was breathless and made a promise not to tell.

* * *

_**(Just a little space) **_

Dinner was an amusing affair. It was styled to be one of those cook your own kind of things. They were to make their own kabobs. Luna had brought a multitude of vegetables and some marinated beef and chicken. Along with the vegetables came herbed butter it they wanted to spread it onto the veggies. A bunch of tongs were situated upon a plate nearby for the meats, so no one would get dirty hands. Next to the dinner fixings were the components for their dessert.

"Hey! No one gets dessert until they eat a little dinner!" scolded the sky-eyed girl. She slapped the hands of the few who chose to go after the sweet trimmings. Which, just so happened to include Raven, Nova, and Mizu. Dyne was fortunate enough to snag a fluffy marshmallow before Luna had gone on a rampage. The scarf wearing girl waited till everyone had made their own unique combinations before making her own. Looking for a place to settle into, she spotted one of the guys sitting on his own. Taking her things she went over and sat next to him.

"How come you're not sitting next to your friends?" she inquired the older silver haired boy, curious, because they were practically attached at the hip. She took this time to safely place some of her sticks next to the fire.

"Mmm…" nodded Riku thoughtfully, nibbling on a mushroom. "Just trying to give them a little space" he replied grinning mischievously at her.

With wide eyes, Luna couldn't help but cry out softly. "They're going out?" her slight shock almost causing her, her precious food.

Chuckling at her antics the sea eyed boy replied. "Hahaha~ no, not yet anyway. But it's easy to tell that they like each other." laughed the older boy as he glanced towards the docks. Upon it sat two figures, comfortable in each others presence, as they watched the sun finally start to descend in the sky.

Following his gaze she couldn't help the sigh of excitement that escaped her. Those two were just adorable together. "Sora is oblivious isn't he?" her curiosity rising to high levels, due to the unknowing couple in front of her.

"Yeah." Riku laughed softly. "That's very observant of you." He pointed out to the seemingly clueless girl next to him.

"I-I…!" she sputtered embarrassed. "I guess…" sighing, she continued, "Momma says that it'll get me into trouble one day, and to watch what I say, cause it can anger people and get me into unnecessary fights…"

"Well, that's not surprising; you seem like the type of person to say what's on your mind." He interjected nonchalantly, as he finished a stick.

"I stopped doing that a long time ago…because; my happiness seemed to hurt others around me. Being impulsive, selfish, and talking the way I wanted seemed to push people away. Being honest seemed to hurt those around me, so I stopped, after nee-chan left…it diid get me into a lot of trouble before i guess..." Luna trailed off, as she thought of past experiences, while nibbling on a roasted mushroom.

"I'm sorry… I won't ask about it anymore." He playfully ruffled her hair. "C'mon tell me about your world! Kairi never tells us any stories about where she came from." smiled the male wearing the sleeveless yellow and black shirt, trying to get her mind off the past. Genuine curiosity shined in his eyes.

Looking into the fire, the sky-eyed girl finished off one of her sticks before talking. "Well, it's kind of like this, except not." She explained, motioning to the surroundings around her. Taking notice of the strange confused face he was currently giving her, she giggled softly and continued.

"There are tons of towns, and cities, and plentiful countryside! I guess you could say that it's kind of huge. There are sooo many different countries and cultures as well. Everyone has their own way of doing things but for the most part, we do our best as a whole to not deplete our natural resources and keep pollution to a minimal. It's pretty neat I guess, cause in some places, where the trees are super tall, people live in houses way above the ground! The magicians even helped to create a sort of bubble technology thing, so that people could live under water if they wanted. Many people even live under the ground!" she recited excitedly. Pausing for a bit she focused on devouring another one of her kabobs.

During this period Riku took the time to observe the happenings of those around him. Chase seemed to be having a bit of fun with Selphie. They've been chatting for a while, it seemed as if the midnight haired boy had really taken a liking to her. He kept making the younger female smile and blush a lot. Raven just so happened to be comically waving two of her kabobs in the air. She accidentally set them on fire. Dyne sat with wide eyes, along with Alya before going back to their own food. Mizu was laughing whole heartedly at the scene, while Nova took the time to scoosh a little bit away from the girl with the flaming sticks. Gizmo, on the other hand was methodically turning his kabobs over and over, to get them to his desired cooked state.

"Mmm!" exclaimed the shorter female next to the silver haired boy. "There's even this kingdom in the sky! Not a lot of people live up there cause it's hard to go to and fro, from the mainland to the one up in the sky. Cause you need a magic user to find it. From all the legends there are, we know that it is self sufficient." Sighing happily she continued. "It's really wonderful…you could eat fresh fruits right off of a tree or a bush, and even vegetables right off of the farm. You could go anywhere you wanted and not be discriminated against just because of what ethnicity you are." Placing her half finished kabob onto her plate, she sadly noted. "But even with all the great things comes the bad also…Humans…can be very ugly things with their cruelty. Some people abuse harmless creatures for their own pleasure, and some even harm others just because they'll think they're better than them. There are even those, who think that the people around them should suffer what they have been suffering, just because they have a better life. Even so, these imperfections, make the world a perfect place." Finished the bunny hat girl.

Turning toward the girl with a perplexed look upon his face he asked. "Why would imperfections make it a perfect world?"

"Well, if you think about it, a world without its imperfections, despite what people say, is not a perfect world. Without imperfections, artist wouldn't strive to be the best they are today, cooks wouldn't try and think of new creations, and overall people wouldn't' aspire to be greater, better people they are today. Its like why we protect the things we love." She concluded, as she lovingly stared at her friends in front of them.

Nodding the sea eyed boy agreed as they fell into a comfortable silence. After all, the main reason he wanted to explore other worlds was to be a stronger person for his companions. "are you guys always like this?" he inquired, watching as Mizu ran around chasing, Raven and Dyne around with flaming marshmallows on multiple kabob sticks.

Looking up Luna almost choked on her water. "Yeah~ Don't worry about it though, she's just cooling them off, watch." She coughed as they viewed what came next. As soon as the fire of the crazy girl's marshmallows died down, she stopped chasing the two around and sat in place, eating the crispy gooey mess. Laughing the two went to get their own fixings for s'mores and continued chatting about nothing in particular.

* * *

_**(Let's go!)**_

The sun was just starting to set in the distance, casting a lovely yellow orange shade around. Two figures, sat upon the docks, content with watching the waves wash upon the shore. They were both in their early teens, on was a boy with gravity defying spiky brown hair, the other a girl with deep red short locks. Both had striking blue eyes.

"Yah know Riku has changed." commented Kairi, her short locks of hair waving on the breeze.

"What do you mean?" questioned Sora a bit confused. His friend seemed to be the same as always.

"Well…" started the female becoming a little unsure of what to say.

"You okay?" asked the blue eyed boy, sounding a little worried.

"Sora! Let's take the raft and go—just the two of us!" exclaimed the shorter girl in a light tone. She rocked from side to side as she talked, leaning forward near the end and turning her head a little toward the male next to her. The shoes on her dangling feet rubbed together as if she was nervous.

"Huh?" queried the spiky haired boy turning towards his current companion, bewildered.

"Hahahahaha~ Just kidding." The red haired female laughed at his expression.

"What's gotten into you?" questioned Sora, chuckling. "You're the one that's changed Kairi." He clarified.

"Maybe…" came the girl's soft reply. "Yah know, I was a little afraid at first, but now…I'm ready." nodding with determination. "No matter where I go or what I see, I know I can always come back here." Smiling, she turned towards her companion. "Right?"

"Yeah, of course!" the blue eyed boy exclaimed in a reassuring tone.

Turning to face the ocean once more "That's good" Kairi said in a relieved tone. "Sora, don't ever change." finished the female calmly.

"Huh?" said boy questioned, incredulous and the girl sitting next to him stood.

"I just can't wait. Once we set sail, it'll be great." She smiled. "Did you see Riku today? He was trying to impress someone." came her knowing tone.

"…wasn't he trying to just show everyone how cool he was?" Sora interjected.

Shaking her head Kairi added, "He kept looking our way while we were cooking; didn't you notice?" she inquired, a grin slowly crossing her features.

"I-I Thought that he was just getting super hungry! We could smell the food cooking from where we were that's why…" a slightly shocked look covered the spiky haired boys face.

"Oh Sora, you're so oblivious." She giggled before shoving Sora into the water below. "C'mon Sora! Let's go and get some dessert!" laughing madly as she ran off.

* * *

_**Later that night…**_

It was dark out now. Sora was just lying on his bed relaxing, thinking about the events of the day. Tomorrow was the big day! He couldn't help but sigh and look up towards his ceiling. Kairi's words floated around his mind as he focused upon the two dolls sitting in a ship hanging from the top of the room.

_I just can't wait. Once we set sail, it'll be great._

Turning his head to a rumbling sound outside, he took notice of thunder and lightning, upon the island in the distance. "A storm…?" Bolting upright he exclaimed, "Oh, no, the raft!" opening his window, he climbed down and set about to get to the island in the fastest way possible. They worked so hard for this! There was no way he was going to let it all get ruined just because of some storm.

Moments later a female call from below sounded out. "Sora, dinner is ready. Come on down!" there was a few moments pause, before the same voice sounded again. "Sora?"

* * *

Thank you again for reading!

~Lunamonki


	10. Night of Fate

**A/N:** Yay~~! Got this one finished too! And right in time for work. X3 I'm happy with it for the most part, and kinda iffy about the ending part…I know that could be better. Happy new years everyone! I have to be on my way to work now! =D

* * *

**Chapter X**

All was peaceful and quite. Soft cooing, of the nearby birds, as they nestled into their beds, could be heard on the cool gentle breezes flowing throughout the area. Inky blue-blackness of night covered everything it touched in a dark blanket. The brightly shining stars, along with the moon, provided enough light to illuminate the seemingly sleeping figures, lying in the wooden area, among the trees.

One lone figure stared up at the sky, marveling at its brilliance. Sighing the girl with the light sky blue eyes, stretched out gently, and curled into a comfortable position. Looking up once more into the vast cosmos of space, flashes of loved ones crossed her mind. _It's so different; between knowing you'll be home soon and if you'll ever be able to go home again._ She was already missing her family. Even if it only had been two days already, who knows when they'll ever get back to their homes…

The island they were on gave her a very serene feeling, as if it were relatively new and still untouched by the ugliness of humanities cruel nature. The lights seen in the tunnel were a good example. They had given her such a wonderful feeling of warmth and happiness. _I wish Nova could've seen and felt them too…_ The only other time she had that experience, was when they visited a castle on one of the school field trips they had. The caretakers had turned the old structure into a museum, and left most things generally untouched. They had put up ropes and whatnots to keep people from tripping on things and touching the old draperies and such. The castle was supposedly the one that the leader of the Knights lived at. If she remembered correctly…It wasn't like those huge, imposing, but grand castles. Rather it gave off a more humble and homey feel, but still rather spacious. It also provided a good defense against opposing forces. The strange thing about the place was that there were almost no paintings, or even tapestries of those who lived there. The only one that they did put up were, smudged and damaged paintings of the last standing Knights, the Maidens coming together to seal off the light, and the Leader of the Knights and his thirteen Lieutenants.

A fit of nostalgia overcame her, as unwanted but not entirely unpleasant memories came forward. Star gazing was one of the things that she and her sister used to do together. A warm heavy pressure began to build up behind her eyes, as she did her best to shake it away. They had more pressing matters at the moment. Finding a way home was a big one. A flickering movement caught her eye in the stars above.

"W-wha…?" she exhaled softly, blinking, she waited. Just as she was about to brush it off as a figment of her imagination, a star brightly shining, dimmed and blinked out as if it were never there. Abruptly standing, small seeds of dread crept its way into her being, only to sprout faster as another one slowly fades out as well. _Stars do not go out like that naturally…!_ The roiling clouds did nothing to quell her fear, as it brought strong growing winds and ominous thunder with it.

Grabbing her things and quickly preparing, she shuffled over the nearest figure to her. _Never know what might happen…It's best to be ready for anything!_ It was just her luck to pick someone who slept heavily like a rock. "Chase. Chase!" her urgent whisper called out, as she tried to gently shake him awake. Despite her seemingly endless amount of patience, right now was really not the time for it. _RRRRGH! Wake up sleepy head!_ Poking him somewhat harshly in the side (It was one of his ticklish spots…), he jerked awake.

Pushing his visor out of the way, Chase looked up at the person who had roughly wakened him up. "Luna…? What's wrong?" he inquired as he stared into her anxious eyes. Holding her hand out, she pulled him up just a bit so he was sitting instead.

"I-I feel like something is wrong, like that one time we decided to walk home…we need to wake the others, and prepare for whatever is happening!" she pressed, as she helped him to his feet and proceeded on to the next person. Nodding, he stretched languidly, before going to the friend nearest to him. He could remember that time all to clearly. They had just finished a class project together, and instead of calling their parents and waiting at the school until they arrived, they left together, deciding to enjoy a walk home instead. Him and the others were sleeping over her house for the weekend, but were arriving at different times. Along the way they had taken a wrong turn somewhere and ended up in a different neighborhood. Luna could sense certain things and upon walking, not even ten steps, into the community did she stop dead in her tracks. She wouldn't budge at all! And, instead, insisted that they turn back and just call her mom. Her mom had been rather relieved when they had called, having heard on the radio that in a nearby district, near to their school, kids have been disappearing and found dead days later. So, now, whenever she insisted upon something bad happening he listened. Most in their group of friends just thought she was paranoid.

Gizmo was one of those people who you could wake up and talk to for a bit. That is before they immediately fell back to sleep when you were done. So jolting awake the second time around, as Chase roughly tapped him on the shoulder, had him more alert than earlier and almost ready for anything. Together they journeyed towards the next victim, all the while trying to keep each other from falling asleep on their feet.

On the other side Luna was doing her best to wake up the normally animated Mizu. Despite the bubbly girl's hyperactivity, once asleep she was a dead weight until she awoke. The sky-eyed girl was getting a tad bit frustrated. None of the methods she was using was working on the girl in front of her. _Well, I guess desperate times call for desperate measures…maybe I could use her ribbons to…_ Untying the ribbons from bubblegum pink hair, Luna leaned closer towards dozing female's ear. "Mizu! Someone took your hair ribbons and are planning to burn them!" she whispered loudly.

"Noooo!" cried Mizu; as she abruptly sat up, a confused yet sleepy look overtaking her facial features. Her untied hair hung in ringlets, framing her face, as she ran her fingers into her hair. She turned and looked all over, before settling on Luna as said girl held up the ribbons with a small smile. She tied her hair back up as she listened to Luna talk explaining the situation. Unknown to the two, a strange darkness formed beneath their bodies.

Nodding to each other the two got ready to stand up, only to find that they couldn't budge from their spot. The dark was already consuming their legs and no matter what they did, it would not let them free. Like quicksand the more they moved the faster they sank into the substance. Looking at each other with startled expressions, they both gave a cry of warning to the friends on the other side of the platform.

"Gizmo! Chase!" But their warning came too late. The two boys were already stuck in the pool of darkness. The four awake friends could only struggle and watch as their sleeping friends sunk beneath the darkness. In hopes that they would see each other again one day, the four linked arms with their partner. Luna instead grasped onto Mizu's arm and hoped against all odds the she wouldn't be alone in whatever place they were headed.

* * *

_**(Where...?)**_

_Darkness was all around. I floated on a bed of nothingness. A weightless feeling; in the vast unknown around me, drifting to and fro. All I could remember before this point was, trying to grab the attention of a few of my friends. Then, there was storming wind and rain consuming us. _

_In the dark I let my senses take over. Warmth from an unknown source could be felt, as well as the delicious smell of food cooking wafting around. I could faintly hear a constant crackling noise in the background. A gentle flicker of light was seen in the distance. Not really knowing what to do, I made a move towards the light. Vague mumblings of an elderly male could be heard, the closer I got to the glow of illumination. _

"_...stir constantly... the whole time? Or every so often...?" a light slurping sound soon followed. "Mmm!" exclaimed the far off voice, mumbling to itself. "...very tasty, indeed! ...just...wait till...all components...cook through." It continued. _

_Reaching the light, I could feel that, I seemed to be lying on some kind of mattress, with a light material covering me. Slowly, my eyes opened to see a rock ceiling above me. Moving my arms just a bit I pushed myself into a leaning position against the headboard of the bed I was placed upon. It was a cozy place I guess...Although, why anyone would want to live in a cave was beyond me. Turning my head a little, I glanced around the rather spacious room, taking notice of a multitude of things. _

_First of all, the space was surprisingly well furnished. The second thing, were the piles upon piles of books lining the walls of the room, along with completely covering the two desks that were there also. The third thing was that there was a short tunnel leading a ways away from us, holding the entrance to the cave. Thick vines covered the opening, occasionally moving back and forth, due to some rather strong winds. And lastly, right smack dab in the middle was a merrily crackling fire. Along with some sort of handmade apparatus that held a pot above it. An elderly man, dressed in light blue robes and a pointed hat, sat nearby. He was poring over some sort of book and waving a thin looking stick at the pot, which in turn was magically stirring itself. The wizened old man seemed to pause in his studies, to quickly glance my way before going right back to his work. That is, only to fully put his attention on me, once he realized I was awake. _

"_Dear boy! I see you have finally woken up!" he happily exclaimed. "You've been out for a couple of days now, so I was hoping you'd awaken soon. I'm not too sure what I would have done if you didn't! I have to be on my way you see..." He explained, as he rummaged around for a few things. I watched as he put together a small meal upon a tray. _

_So many thoughts were running around my head. I don't quite understand how I ended up in a cave when I was on a beach before... where were my friends..? And the beach we were on? Where exactly was I anyway? And my friends...are they okay as well...? And who exactly is this strange old man...?_

_The wizard..? I guess, came over with the tray. Slowly, I pushed myself into a sitting position, receiving the tray that he offered me. Confusion slowly crossed my features._

"_Eat up! You need your energy, after sleeping so long." He gently smiled, motioning for me to eat. Looking at all the food I couldn't help but think that this person was one of the nicest people I have met. How many people would just pick up an unconscious person and take care of them with no strings attached..? At our home, not a lot of people would help another, despite the peace there seemed to be. Most times when someone is in need of help, people would just stop and stare or even walk around and ignore them, not wanting to get involved. I only know a few people that would actually get up and help others out of the kindness of their hearts. Before taking a bite I voiced the question on my mind. Well, tried to I guess._

"_H-ha...!" My voice cracked horribly. The insides of my neck felt dry and scratchy, causing some pain. The coarseness made me go into a fit of coughing, hurting my throat further. _

_The elderly male seemed to flood with concern and apologized to me profusely. "I'm so sorry! I've forgotten your water. It's the old age, you see." Using his wand he magically filled a cup with water and flew it over. Holding out the cup, he instructed, "Drink it slowly. Don't want you to choke now, do we?"_

_Taking the glass and nodding, I did my best not to gulp the whole thing down in one go. The water was very refreshing, with a crisp flavor. Cooling the soreness, as it went down. Placing the half full glass on the tray, I gasped and tried once more to ask my question. _

"_Have you seen my friends, sir?" pausing, my ice blues staring into his darker ones. "There are ten of us, myself included." Unconsciously a swell of hope welled up inside. That is, only to be brought down at the news that came soon after. _

"_I'm sorry...but, I'm afraid that you have been the only one I've seen so far. You did appear in a flash of light after all." Replied the wizard softly. "For now eat, and we shall discuss your magical abilities, and a way to find these friends of yours." softly urged the wizened male. _

_Magical...abilities...? I wasn't even aware that I had any sort of it within me. I just figured that every day would be the same old thing with me. Not that I minded, but the idea of being able to do magic was amazing! Maybe...just maybe, it would make Alya like me more... Her confident and light hearted personality seemed to calm me when I'm around her. It's such a pleasant feeling! If I could use magic to find my friends and maybe even help them out, that would be great! ...And if possible, maybe pull a prank or two here and there. Only one problem seemed to present itself at the moment._

"_If possible, I would love to learn sir, although before we start on anything could I get your name?" I asked. Really, though, I'd rather not have to call him sir of even mister throughout the whole thing. _

"_Ah! I have forgotten to introduce myself haven't i? well, you may call me Merlin." He introduced holding out a friendly hand. Grasping it gently, I gave him a small smile. _

"_I'm Blaz."_

* * *

_**[What is that?]**_

_**Pulling my boat into the docking area I noticed that the others were here as well. "Riku's boat and Kairi's!" Jumping onto the dock of the island, a huge glowing ball of some kind of strange glowing energy pulsed in the sky…"Wh-what is that?" **_

_**Looking back forward, little black figures started to ease out of the ground. **Just like in my dream!** Dashing back to my little boat, deft fingers grasped the wooden structure of my play sword and quickly turning to slash at the air, just as one of the shadow things jumped into the sky and aimed for attack! Jumping from space to space, slowly making my way onto the sand. I slashed at them the best I could, in hopes that they would disappear. I wasn't doing any damage to them at all and only earned tiny scratches for my attempts. **_

_**Taking my play sword I tucked it in a belt loop and bolted for the area that Chase and all our other new friends were staying for the night. Climbing the ladder that led to the area, the eerie silence sent a small sense of foreboding throughout me. **Please let them be okay…** Upon reaching the site, all I could see were a few scattered blankets and pillows lying about. Other that that there were no signs that anyone was there at all. **NO!** Turing around, I found that Riku was standing upon the little Island with the Paopu tree. **_

_**Standing around didn't seem to be such a good idea. The shadow things were coming up around me again. Taking off I headed to the little islet. Finally crossing the bridge I found Riku calmly standing in the middle as if nothing were happening around him. "Where's Kairi? I thought she was with you!" I couldn't help the accusing tone from seeping into my voice. So far I hadn't seen her and the dark shadow minion things could attack her! **_

"_**The Door has opened…" he said in awe, his head lifting higher in realization. "The Door is open, Sora! Now we can go to the outside world!" he exclaimed in excitement turning towards me. **_

"_**What are you talking about? We've gotta find Kairi!" I said panicked, who knows what those things would do to her if we don't get to her first…**_

"_**Kairi's coming with us too!" Riku interjected in confident assurance, as I softly gasped at his outburst. "Once we step through, we might not be able to come back." He stated, laying out a possible outcome. "We may never see our parents again. There's no turning back." He slowly lifted his head, as if seeing a far off distant world. "But this may be our only chance. We can't let fear stop us! I'm not afraid of the darkness!" he concluded with determination, holding his hand out to.**_

"_**Riku…" a sense of alarm gripped me. A pool of darkness appeared under him and slowly climbed up his form. Running forward, I stopped only to find the same pool around my own feet, stalling my movement. Reaching out I did my best to grasp his hand. **We're so close! I not about to let the shadows take may best friend away from me! **Before I could even think to touch his hand a force pulled me backwards. I was consumed in darkness for a moment as I floated in the subconscious. **_

_**A bright ball of light illuminated my vision and I was once again on the island, stumbling back onto my feet, with a new weight in my right hand. Lifting it into my sight I saw, a key shaped, weapon. **_

…_**Keyblade…**_

…_**Keyblade…**_

_**Strange whispers flew into my mind; along with the knowledge that I could use it to get rid of the small shadow things popping up all over the place. Nodding to myself I jumped off of the bridge, unto the sand below. The shadows immediately, started to surround me. Focusing on the one near me I slashed at it as it jumped into the air knocking in to the ground. Doing the same to some of the others and sending them flying away from me. Missing one as it sank back into the ground and seemed to circle around me. Keeping it no mind, I caught one of the ones that I had attacked earlier and watched as it burst into , green bubbles and small golden nuggets and a crystal heart flew away into the sky. Running into the items had me picking them up. The small green bubbles filled me with energy and I notice that some of my scratches seemed to heal themselves. Finishing off the shadows, I made my way to the secret place where Kairi and I drew pictures all over the walls. **_

_**Stopping abruptly at the end of the tunnel I noticed a familiar figure facing the wooden door with no knob. "Kairi!" I shouted, relieved to have finally found her. Sluggishly she turned, an empty haunted look in her eyes. **_

"_**Sora…" she called softly. Trying to take a few stumbling steps forward, her hand reached out to me. The door behind her suddenly burst open, sending a strong dark wind flying out. I threw my arms out in front of me to protect myself from any oncoming debris. Squinting through the wind I was shocked to see that Kairi was flying towards me! Holding my arms out to catch her, I waited for the impact. I was surprised to find that instead of catching her, she disappeared as soon as her skin touched mine. Then the swirling wind only got stronger and threw me out of the cave. **_

_**I landed back onto whatever was left of the island. Situated at what was now the edge, of my world, the dark sphere in the sky seemed to be sucking in more and more pieces of it. Turning around a huge dark figure loomed before me. **Its another creature from my dream. ** It stared at me with its glowing yellow eyes from under its fringe of tangled strands of hair.  
**_

_**Hefting the Keyblade in hand, I ran toward it and instantly attacked its hand. It seemed the only possible vulnerable place to hit. In the dream, nothing happened when I hit its legs. Crossing its arms over its chest, the huge shadow, Darkside, I think it was called, bent over and gathered energy in the empty place where a person's heart should be. Rearing on its legs, it shot pulses of darkness into the sky, raining down as huge balls of darkness. Doing my best to avoid them, I continued to hack at the hand in front of me. **_

_**Having hit a nerve, the hand in front of me reared backwards into the sky and accumulated more dark energy before slamming it into the ground. A pool of darkness appeared around it and small shadows appeared into the mass, as if being summoned. Taking advantage of the Darkside's head so near to the ground, I attacked it. The little beings of darkness attacked my backside mercilessly as I went for its 'Mother' figure. **_

_**A bright flash of light suddenly illuminated the area and the Darkside seemed to fall, defeated. Stumbling on my feet, I fell down, grabbing at the nearest thing to me. I could feel the suction of the ball in the sky, while watching the huge shadow get sucked up into it. **I-I can't hold on much longer!**  
**_

_**"UAAAHHHHHHhhhh…..!"**_

* * *

A/N: Omg...xD that last part is so repetitive! I'll get to fixing it soon...

Thank you all for reading!

**Update 6/18/12**: Finally fixed the things i had wanted to tune up! :D

~Lunamonki


	11. This I Fear

**Chapter XI**

**A/N**: Hey guys! Another chapter! xD *sigh* the next one might be a while... I have to replay some games and watch some animes over again. Lols and I finally finished Inheritance! X3 It had a wonderful ending, a little sad though. It was partially what kept me from finishing this...cause I kept wanting to read it! Oh! And not to mention, one of my co-workers wanted me to make a drawing commission for him...

Okay so this chapter is going to be a little crazy, so please bear with me on this one. Also, I've decided that the headers that I usually put for each section will be little clues or tie into something that pertains to the sections. Well, it kinda of has been like that so far.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything from Disney, Square Enix or any of the games, anime, books, and movies that I'll be using.

**Warning**: There will be a lot of POV changing around, so I'll put up whose POV it is unless I don't want you to find out yet. Oh yah! For each POV it's usually _Italics_, _**Bold**_ _**Italics**_, or just **Bold **if it comes right after the other. Otherwise, it's third person. It's a little confusing, but not all the sections will be of a character's thoughts, so they will be in normal text. With little snippets here and there, in italics or something, voicing their thoughts. Anyway, on with the story!

* * *

**_When in dreams... _[Dyne]**

_Pushy...pushy, pushy! Why does everyone like doing these things to me? Why can't I tell them NO? Dammit! Now look at where it got me... *Sigh* This is what I get for agreeing to random things just to get people out of my face. It's hard to admit...but I know I have a problem with confrontations...and crowds! _

_Delivering speeches is sooo not something I like doing... But here I am now, standing behind a podium, hidden by the heavy red curtain in front of me. All because I couldn't say one simple word! It would have been troublesome to have said it but at least I wouldn't be here in this mess! _

_My pulse was beating so fast, I was starting to feel light-headed. A chime was heard overhead and the noise that had been heard from the other side of the curtain slowed to soft murmurs. My ordeal was about to begin. I was only able to glimpse a few hundreds of faces before the world turned white and the floor seemed to fall away from my feet._

* * *

**[Chase]**

Bright rays of the sun glittered through vibrant green leaves. A gentle breeze through the trees caused the illumination to cast dancing beryl shadows across the forest floor. Surrounding fauna chattered as they went about living their everyday lives. Towering trees surrounded a lone figure as he walked amongst the roots of the foliage.

_How did I end up walking around in this forest anyway...?_ Chase couldn't seem to fathom how he had ended up in the copse of trees or even when. He could only hope that following one path would lead him to an exit or even a clearing. Unfortunately, he seemed to be going further and further into the deep recesses of the weald with no clearings in sight.

Strolling along his self appointed route he slowly started taking in the subtle changes of his surroundings. It was slowly starting to get darker and a mist gradually began to build up around him. _Where did the haze come from?_ The further he went in to the forest the closer the trees started to grow towards each other. This caused the light filtering through the leaves to become less and less. Despite it being the middle of the day, little illumination could pierce through the layers upon layers of leaves. The midnight haired boy had to often watch his step, lest he trip on one of the protruding roots and fall.

Sighing, the young boy came to a halt to take in his surroundings. Everywhere he looked was only glooming darkness and more trees. Even the path he was walking seemed to disappear. The air seemed eerily still as well. A slight whooshing of wind passed over his right ear as a paper light weight landed on his shoulder. With half lidded paranoid eyes, he calmly (or as calmly as he could in this type of situation) looked towards the object to view what had landed there. Hoping against all odds that it was just some bird poop...

"UAAHHH! SPIDER!" He shouted in dismay. Swatting the dreaded thing off of his shoulder, he promptly killed it. Closing his eyes he let out a relived breath, tilting back his head to the blocked out sky. _The threat is gone... _ gasping in horror as he opened his eyes, he viewed millions upon millions of glossy webs among the many branches of the trees above. A few of its occupants started streaming down towards him. A cry of fury was heard throughout the forest as well as the shuddering of the ground beneath him_. Oh hecks no! I'm not going to let myself be caught by whatever that thing is! _ Turning tail he bolted back the way he came.

He ran and ran...and ran some more. The initial adrenaline pumping through his veins slowly began to dwindle, being replaced by exhaustion. The aching in his lungs and limbs became known. A person could only run so much after all_. I need to find shelter or something!_ Hope began to fill his being, fore up ahead was a large clearing. A gigantic tree in the middle sat upon many warped roots. It could possibly provide some temporary sanctuary until the thing behind him went away. He could easily slip through the roots and hide beneath them. But first he needed to gauge whether or not he should go from the front or the back side of the tree. Gathering what little courage he had left, he took a chance and glance backwards.

"Holy Shi-!" He almost swore. Behind him, a huge arse spider was chasing him. It was about a story high. The young male couldn't figure out how he had been out running the monstrous arachnid. He stumbled and tripped over the uplifted root before him, causing him to go into a rolling fall. Scrambling onto his back he shuffled as fast as he possibly could, trying to get his footing back to start running again. But his slight mistake made it much too late for him to fix anything. Throwing up his arms as the spider descended upon him, he screamed.

* * *

_**[Raven]**_

_How could this be..? There at the top of the answer sheet, marked in my name, was the most disconcerting thing ever. Brightly shining it sat at the top of the paper as if innocent. All the answers are correct, nothing is marked. So, why...? There, in vivid red, was an 'F'._

"_Excuse me...Professor, how come I got a bad grade?" This was so unbelievable. I always got straight A's. But in my hands, I held proof of that fact now being wrong. "I know I got all the answers correct! And you didn't even mark anything wrong..." Quickly placing the paper on his desk, trying to get the ugly blemishing away from me. _

"_True as that may be, right here..." He said in a flat tone. Picking up the sheet he motioned to a line that lay at the top. I swear that wasn't there before! "It says clearly, to list detailed answers only." He continued, uninterested in my distress, grounding out the rest of his explanation in a firm tone. "Because you did the bare minimum, you get the minimum grade."_

"_B-But! Sur-" I tried getting out, before the professor interrupted._

"_No buts Miss Leissa. Now if you please," watching as he pointed to the door. "...before I give you another one." He finished dismissively. _

_No! What am I going to do now? All the hard work I did to make my parents proud...down the drain! The future valedictorian positions, the straight A's, the honors...all gone. Just because of some stupid F! What are mommy and daddy going to do now? Failure wasn't an option for them..._

_Everything seemed to fade to black then, as angry voices floated around me. They alternated from the high pitch of my mother's to the baritone of my father. _

"_...an f. An **F**?"_

"_This is totally unacceptable."_

"_...you know what'll happen now don't you?"_

"_We don't accept your kind here."_

"_Pack your things, and leave...**NOW**!"_

_The anger, the disappointment, the absolute fury...all these emotions kept berating me breaking down my defenses, until I could take no more. _

"_**STOP IT!"** Crying out in torment, the voices continued without relent. Fingers curling into my hair as hot tears streaked down my face. I fell to my knees then, clutching my head, trying to rid it of the unwanted whispers of animosity. _

_...an F?..._

_...you don't belong here..._

_...leave..._

_...a failure..._

_...don't ever come back..._

* * *

_**[Luna]**_

Pine scents saturated the breeze flowing throughout the house. Charged with the crisp that comes with the morning air, the smell infused its scent into the surrounding furniture. A huge Fir tree sat in front of the far wall of the family room, situated between two big openings on each side. The openings held duo doors each, with simple yet elegant handles. Each door had little square panels filled with glass. On each of the glass panes were hand painted pictures that family and friends put together each year as a tradition, using clear paint so that the beautiful backyard could still be seen. Garlands of blue and silver lined the walls. While on the fireplace, to the right side of the room, a multitude of colorful stockings hung with great care. Contrasting with the garlands, the tree was decorated in red and gold. Many presents varying in size and color littered the space beneath the brightly shining lights of the spruce.

In the kitchen, two females bustled about making scrumptious chow for those still sleeping. A slightly taller woman stood at the stove, cooking multiple meats and other dishes. While a shorter girl worked on rolling out some dough for various pastries and breads. The various cooking smells combined making a delectable aroma waft throughout the humble abode.

About an hour later, mussy haired youngsters and relatives slowly trudged down the stairs at varying times. As they made their way down from the upper levels of the household, they each did their basic morning rituals, which mostly consisted of using the bathroom and brushing their teeth. Making their way into the family room they sat around a low rectangle table in the middle of the room, next to the tree, the two females from earlier placed plates with piles of food upon it.

Every other year, late on Christmas Eve, Luna and family held a sleepover for her friends which lasted till after breakfast the next day. That way everyone could still spend time with their family. This became somewhat of a tradition for the group of friends. The sky eyed girl and her mother motioned for those already seated to help themselves, while they finished getting the rest of the eatables.

…

Finishing the task, Luna sat next to one of her peers and helped herself to her own plate of yumminess. The sounds of laughter, chatting and even the ripping sound of those who couldn't wait to open their presents, filled the space around her. Looking around she couldn't help but feel proud of the beaming faces around her. Those that weren't, were still in the early stages of waking or currently stuffing their faces.

Sighing happily, she closed her eyes in content. Pure joy seemed to fill her being. Basking in the sounds around her, the rabbit lover's upturned lips soon fell. The senseless chatter and uplifting noise soon drifted off into silence. Lifting her lids, she was met with a full yet empty room, void of its occupant's just moment before. "Guys…?" She hesitantly voiced, confused. Slowly she got to her feet and made her way around the seemingly empty house. **This is just a joke right….?** Her friends often like to play tricks on her… **So maybe they're hiding in the rooms somewhere?**

"Nova?" She called out, opening one of the doors to one of the bedrooms upstairs. An area empty of people met her eyes. A bed lay in the corner, with lumps of blankets scattered upon it and on it and on the floor as well. "Dyne…?" She questioned as she pulled on of the sheets off of a pile of pillows. **Maybe the closet!** Walking over to where she usually kept her clothes, she uttered another name. "Gizmo?" Sliding one of the doors open she peered in just to find her normal everyday clothes. The panic she was trying to keep back was slowly starting to take hold, as each room she checked turned up empty. **There's close to twenty of them…why haven't I run into anyone yet? The house isn't that big!**

Quickly, she made her way throughout the home, calling out names and looking everywhere. Her search was all for nothing because no one was there. **NO! Nonononono…This can't be happening again! Not like that time…please…** Her wild thoughts came as she raced towards the front door, a stray far off memory trying to work its way to the forefront of her mind. There were no traces of her family and friends at all, except for the footwear still in the doorway and their things that lay throughout the house. Wrenching the door open she gave little thought about putting on shoes and ran out the door regardless.

A world dulled of its vibrancy met her gaze. The only sounds beyond the silence were of her rapidly beating heart and the howling wind, whistling throughout the trees. Her normally busy neighborhood was devoid of any sounds, humans and animal ones anyway. Even the pets were missing! Falling to her knees she was unable to take the hopelessness welling inside her being. Clutching her head as tears streamed out of her clenched lids and down her now pale cheeks, she let out an anguished cry; a flash of deep red appearing on the black canvas behind her eyelids.

"NEEEE-CHAAAAN!"

* * *

**And so it shall be…**

_'So going across worlds in search of pure maidens will unlock the secrets to the heart,' _mused a spiky haired boy to his self as he recollected the moment Maleficent gave him the assignment. He was not really sure whether or not to trust the witch, but the curiosity burned greater within him than the doubts. People were always so emotional.

It was not that he himself did not have feelings, he simply was honest and curt - to the point where his demeanor seemed cold as ice at times; he did not really consider what he was saying may shatter a person's heart.

_'Isn't truth light? So why does it make people sad? So is it better to be in the dark, where you can't see clearly?'_ the boy wondered. _'It must be better to live in a world of darkness...'_

"Piece of cake," he murmured as he took another person's heart, the villagers cried in disdain. They were simply no match for Eden.

_**'I will make this world happen...'**_

**[Eden]**

* * *

…**nightmares follow…**

**[Gizmo]**

_There! It's finally finished. I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever finish it… I don't really care about painting landscapes, but they are very pretty. Besides, everyone likes my landscape pieces. The one depicted upon my canvas was that of a sunset seascape. Little tide pools, teeming with aquatic life, littered the bottom with the far away sun in the background, as the navy of night started to envelope the orangey illumination of the sun. _

"_Here you go professor; I'm done with this week's project." The assignment was about expressing ourselves with art. Using clay work, paint, pastels, and even crafts, we have to define who we are and what kind of art pleases us the most to do. Personally I like sketching and paint. _

"_It's very beautiful Gizmo, but I'm afraid this isn't what I asked for. I wanted something that defines you and in the art the style that you love doing. One that you can't keep yourself away from." Explained Professor Stahl; the balding but great art teacher. I love how he teaches us how to make the most of our days, and goes out of his way to get to know all of his students. His steely blue eyes seemed to be boring into me. "It's supposed to be something **you** like doing, something that makes **you** happy to do. Not what brings those around you happiness. My question here young one is, **'what makes you happy?'**"_

_What brings me…happiness…? Huh…I guess I've never really thought about that one before… I'm always striving to make other people happy; I've never considered my own contentment. What brings me joy…?_

* * *

**[_Nova_]**

Warm amber rays of the sun shone vibrantly upon the land. The salty sweet scent of the ocean danced across the breezes, as marine waves merrily crashed upon the sun baked beige colored sands. A lone girl seemed to glide across the waters on this fine day.

To Nova, this bright festive world seemed dull and insignificant. She rode upon a sailboard named EDEN, soaring across the smaller waves, where she knew she had an easier time maneuvering. Becoming a little daring she steadily went out further and further onto the ocean, where the wind became a little more violent and the waves bigger.

Unfortunately, the farther she went the more unsteady her footing seemed to become. Even doing the best she could was not enough, as she gradually lost her balance. Without an attachment or any means of staying in contact with EDEN as they separated, she fell under the waves. The current carrying EDEN away as she slowly drowned. Dismal thoughts clouded her mind as she gradually fell further away from the brightly shining sun and into the sea of darkness.

* * *

_**[Alya]**_

The house seemed different that night. Not in a good way but of something a little more unsettling. Despite the soft warm glow of the night lights stationed throughout the house, just for her, things still seemed a bit off. Everything appeared to be darker than usual; the shadows upon the walls seemed to move on their own volition. If she didn't know better she'd say that the halls grew longer overnight and were quieter as well.

A soft scraping sound soon filled the silence as the young girl continued on her trek, her tresses swishing back and forth as she walked. She couldn't help but wonder why her cozy little home seemed to be a little more on the uninviting side this night, as chills gradually made its way up her back. The funny thing though, well maybe not so funny, was that the noise was coming from behind her…but the only thing back there was her room. There was surely nothing there when she left it.

Walking faster as the scraping grew louder; a frigid wind blew throughout the hall. This was strange since she knew that there were no windows in the hallway. Placing her hand on the wall, she briefly paused in her steps. _There's supposed to be a door here…to Mama and Papa's room…where'd it go_? A flicker of light danced further up the hall as the light bulb of the nearby night light seemingly, sputtered out of existence. _Oh, __**NO!**_ She froze, goose bumps covering her being, as fear took over.

Pale gnarled feminine hands came from around her. One grasped her midsection while the other lifted her chin so that she was looking into raven black voids. The cold eyes were set in a youthful face, which held a crazed smirk of its user. "You're mine, now, Alya."

The young girl screamed, pushing the ghostly figure away from her and running for her life. The apparition only, laughed manically with eyes wide with hunger. Its hair flew about ethereally, as it gave chase, the nails of its hand dragging against the wall; letting those near know that it was indeed coming.

* * *

_**[Mizu]**_

_Ugh! Why are those crazies chasing me! I just met them today! The only thing that I can remember before waking in this crazy-neat, but now scary place, is talking with Luna about something important…Anyways~! That pink room I ended up in was the best! The bed was all plushy and silky~ Haaaaaa~ I was in loooove! There were the cutest stuffed animals all over the place and the fireplace made it sooo nice and toasty~ I know Luna would've loved it too! _

_In the bookshelf across from the fireplace were rows upon rows of little collectable dollies. And right smack dab in the middle of it, was a ghetto boring looking book… I just had to take it down. It was so out of place in all the YAHOOOO and YaYuh~! Fun stuff! Ugh! I shouldn't have! Cause then those creepers wouldn't have appeared! A secret passage was hidden behind the fireplace. There stood two clowns! I thought it was sooo cool at first, but then looking closer at them, the male one looked like how clothes were way too small for him, cause his bajillions of muscles were bursting at the seams. And the lady one looked so craaazy….like she wanted to eat me or something…GAH! And then the sharp pointy things they pulled out..! Then the lady said…._

"_Awwww…Don't be afraid, little one! We just want to plaaaaay~" _

_And then I bolted out the door nearby, there was no way I was going to let those crazy people poke me with those pointy sticks! Now here I am, running around this cool ghetto house! Cool cause I love these kinds of places! But only when I can use it to my advantage…Ghetto cause I'll never know when the next stupid trap door will pop up and lead me back to those maniacs chasing me! RRRGH! Where the heck is that dumb exit door in this idiotic house when I need it? Maybe that's it?_

The young girl, Mizu, ran through the upcoming door at the end of the hall only to fall and end up in a mirror maze below.

"RAAAAAH~! Why me DANGIT!" She cried out in frustration and panic, as she tried to navigate the reflective labyrinth.

* * *

Okay guys! That's it for this chapter! …..Although I did skip a few things…Like a flashback with Eden and Maleficent, and the fact that I had originally wanted to put a bit of Sora in Traverse Town at the end… *Sigh…Oh, well…He'll Have two parts in the next one then! Beginning and End!

Hm, let's see, if anyone couldn't guess... These sequence of events, well most of them, are some of the fears of the characters in the form of nightmares. Well, I guess one of the major ones anyway….

Here's the list to help you out:

Dyne-Confrontations

Chase- Spiders xD kinda obvious in that one

Raven- Failure

Luna- Loneliness

Gizmo-Not being able to make others happy (This one was kinda hard….^^;)

Nova- Losing sense of security (It was metaphorically, I guess, or symbolic… I think..?)

Alya- Darkness and Ghosts

Mizu- Scary clowns, mirror mazes….(This one was actually the hardest to write…fun houses are all good and dandy, when not fleeing for your life…)

And that's it for now! Now to revise the last two chapters…. =D The revisions wont be too major so you don't have to go back and check it.

Ah! And one more thing. the next chapters, will be in sections i guess...The group is separated in pairs and groups and stuff, so there will be a chapter for each with a little of sora here and there, and hopefully riku if i can get around to it. But, they will unfortunately be shorter, probably as long as this one.

The KawaiiKon is coming up and my mom and I are making Luna's costume for it, so my mind will be a little elsewhere. If anything, I'll do my best to make them long but updates will take longer.

Thank you for reading and please review if you can~ They make me even more motivated *heart* I'll still be writing regardless.

I'm excited for the upcoming parts! Can't wait till then!

~Luna


	12. Of Rookies and Champions

Chapter XII

A/N: Hey everyone! Long time no see. =D We'll slowly get to see what happened to everyone from here. This chapter is actually longer than I originally wanted it to be… but I hope its okay. Aside from Sora we'll see three others and the rest will be in the next chapters. If we don't see someone for a long while it'll be cause their section is way shorter…xD

Oh yes, as a reminder thoughts are usually in italics, and if the paragraphs or sections are in _italic_, then thoughts will be in **_bold italics_**.

Disclaimer: I absolutely own no characters from Disney or Square Enix, or other characters from anime/books/games.

* * *

_[Sora]_

It was just another night in Traverse Town. Despite the fact that the town lights were shining brightly, you could still clearly see the stars gleaming in the night sky. From the town gates two animalistic figures made their way across the square. A little heavy in heart; a mission on their minds, they trudged on. The taller dog-like figure slowed in his gait as he stared at the sky. A strange twinkling had caught his eyes. Noticing the absence of his partner the smaller form turned to face the humanoid dog, an angry look on his face.

"What…?" The short duck exclaimed crisply, as Goofy pointed to the vast cosmos above.

"Look, a star's goin' out!" Exclaimed the floppy eared friend as the two buddies stared in alarm. The star gently pulsed before it faded from existence.

"C'mon. Let's hurry." Urged Donald in that somewhat incomprehensible scratchy voice of his, they needed to find that key the King mentioned. Goofy nodded as they continued their quest with the ever playful Pluto at his side, who had stowed away on their ship.

The yellow canine seemed to scent something interesting upon the air as he ran forward deviating from the path that his companions were walking on. With crossed arms, the feathered mage voiced his frustrations. "Where's that key…"

The ever optimistic Goofy could only reply with what he thought would be the best choice. "Hey, ya know, maybe we ought to go find that Leon." He glanced at his friend, as they walked up some steps. At the top, Pluto and Donald went opposite ways. Torn between the two, the tall knight tried his best to grab his partner's attention as Pluto made his way into an alley on the side. "Uh, Donald. Ya know, I betcha that…"

"Aw, what do you, know you big palooka?" Interrupted the feathered friend; waving his wing in a dismissive manner.

Glancing towards the stowaway, he seemingly agreed. "What _do_ I know?" His answer came out questioningly. "Hmm… C'mon Pluto!" He called out to the smaller dog; continuing on their journey.

…

"Uwaah…? Uhm…"started Sora as he slowly awoke after getting his cheek licked, by the little dog next to him. Looking around, dazed, at the strange buildings that were surrounding him, "What a dream…" he muttered to himself, closing his eyes once more. Pluto not being one to be ignored jumped upon the unsuspecting boy.

"Ahh! Huh? I-it's not a dream!" exclaimed the spiky haired youth as he stood up and really took in the place he was in. The tall structures, the dimly lit alleyway, with crates and boxes lining the walls, were similar yet foreign to his homeland. "Whoa…Where am I? Oh, boy…" kneeling to reach the yellow canine's height Sora lightly questioned. "Do you know where we are?" Perking his ears, the little dog seemed to listen to something upon the wind, before shooting around the corner excitedly. "Ah! Hey…" The young male reached out as if trying to stop Pluto.

_Haaa…oh well, I'm sure there should be some people here I could ask_. Sora scratched his head as he walked out of the alleyway. _I wonder if Riku and Kairi are here too…_Upon setting his task the spiky-haired youth decided on asking the first person he could find. Walking down the steps of the town square, he spotted a boy about his age standing next to a lamppost at the bottom of the little set of stairs. _He reminds me of a friend I made a few years back. What was his name again…?_ Trying to recall the name but to no avail, all he could remember was that it started with a T. Stepping up to the slightly younger boy he gave a small wave. "Hi! My name is Sora. Have you se-?"

"Oh, Hi! My name is Jin." Interrupted the slightly younger youth as he tugged upon is orange/brown vest, so it touched the tips of his brown shorts. "I'm not exactly from around here, as you can see, but it's been a long time since I arrived." He seemed to be really animated all of a sudden. "My world was attacked by Shadows. I got separated from my parents before I finally ended up here." He paused, as if something just clicked off in his head. Looking regretfully at the boy before him, he apologized. "Ah…Sorry, I get carried away sometimes, were you looking for someone?"

Nodding his head full of long spikes, Sora grinned wide. "Yeah! Did you happen to see a girl with red hair about this high?" He motioned bringing his hand level to his eyes. "And a boy about a year older than me, about…" _How tall was Riku again?_ "This tall, I think." A warm smile graced his features as he thought about his friends; lifting his hand above his head. When they were together it was like viewing a set of steps. Kairi was the shortest, while Riku was tallest so far. _I'm just a late bloomer that's all!_

Jin shook his head, "I can't say that I have…But, yah know, this is a big town, be sure to check everywhere, okay?" An empathic grin settled upon his features.

"Thanks, I'll be sure to do that." Crestfallen, the youth walks away, towards a warm ring of flickering lights. He came upon a little eating area with six tables and twelve chairs, and some extra on the side if needed. There was a small section upon both walls that held currently closed windows and bar-like countertops. The other two walls were open to the square. _Wow, that's pretty neat. It's warm but it doesn't melt the wax!_ He marveled at the small candle centered upon one of the tables. _How does it do that?_ Ever so carefully he neared the candle, the heat of the flames lighting up his features and warming his face.

"Like them?" A sultry voice came from behind.

"Huh?!" The preteen cried out in bewilderment. He stumbled quickly turned to face the 'newcomer', to find a woman in her early twenties. She had somewhat, long wavy hair falling to her back. From beneath it two hoop earrings, glinted within the night light. The off the shoulder dress she was wearing covered her feet and was white at the top and a deep green at the bottom. A playful smile flitted across her lips. He was speechless. _Where did this lady come from? I didn't even hear her!_

"These candles were made by moogles, even if you put them out they'll just light back up. The only way to snuff them is with a magic spell." She continued to stare at the flames as if she were entranced.

"U-um, Hi I'm Sora." The young male choked out. _This lady is too close…How did she even get this near to me without me noticing? It's like she came out of nowhere!_ The older female gave out a small, low amused chuckle.

"Hello there, I'm Cheri." A dazzling grin settled upon her visage. "Are you from another world, too?" Her eyebrows raised in curiosity. "A lot of people with no where else to turn come to this town." She continued, answering the question rising within the male's eyes in a clipped tone. "Where am I from? That is really none of your business now is it? Don't expect any answers if you ask that around here." Crossing her arms under her breasts, she looked away afflicted. "Everyone has got an unhappy past."

"Alright." Sora nodded, not wanting to upset the lady any further. "I'm actually looking for my friends. Has anybody new come by recently?" He asked trying to change the subject, as he threads his fingers through the spikes at the back of his head.

Cheri shook her head, sending her thick locks waving about. "Not that I know of…you're the only new person I've seen so far." She replied in a straightforward tone. Placing a single digit upon her chin to consider the circumstances, she looked up towards the stars in thought. "Then again," looking towards the young boy once more, "they might not have landed in this district. So they might be around somewhere." A hint of sympathy coated her words, as she felt sorry for the youth before her, who seemed to have been separated from his friends.

Sora heaved a heavy sigh. "Okay, thanks Cheri." With that he slowly ventured off to his next 'victim'.

"Hey, Sora!" The boy turned to the voice that had called out to him, to see Cheri waving at him. "If you ever get hungry be sure to stop by! I'll make sure you get a delicious meal." The woman crossed her arms under her chest as a proud smile adorned her lips. "I'm a pretty good cook, ya know"

Laughing at the lady's antics, the youth grinned widely and waved back. "Sure!" _At least I know that they might be here somewhere now. So, I guess it won't hurt to take a look everywhere…_ nearing the huge Gates at the far end of the square; Sora spotted a small plush-like creature with a fluffy red pom pom bouncing happily at the top of his head. _What is that? It's actually kind of cute…_He couldn't help the smile that plastered itself across his face. The little creature looked like it was keeping guard at who came in and out, standing in front of the colossal barrier behind it. "Hey there little guy, what are you?" He asked with a clueless upturn of his lips. The tiny…thing…looked up at the taller being in a confounded demeanor.

"That's so rude, kupo!" It stomped its plushy curved foot angrily. "I am obviously, a moogle, kupo." The pom pom bounced wildly as it moved. "How can you not have known what I am, kupo…" it cried out in disappointment, as it lowered its gaze.

_I-I didn't mean to upset it!_ "I'm sorry Mr. Moogle!" He rushed. "I was just wondering if you've seen any other new kids come through."

"No I haven't." it said crisply. "If you need to know, try looking around town. Seeing this entire town will take some time, kupo." The plush creature deeply sighed. "Even if you can't visit all of the places right now, you'll be able to, with help from a couple of friends, kupo." He added as his earlier anger dissipated.

"Thank you Mr. Moogle." Replied Sora as he shook the little moogle's hand.

_Hmm… _the young teen rubbed the back of his head_. So far every person I've asked has seen neither of them. Not even a sign of any of the others! Haaaaaah~…one more person and then I guess I can check if any of the shop owners have seen them._ "Hey, mister!" He cried out as he neared another set of huge doors with an older man standing in front.

"Why hello there young man!" came the jovial response of the male. "It's a pleasure meeting your acquaintance, young sir." His hand held out in a gesture as he bowed.

_Man this guy talks kind of weird…_"My name's Sora." _He has a weird accent too…_

A rather friendly smile crossed the other male's face. "I am called, Jonathan. May I ask as to what I owe this meeting to?" he gently queried.

_What is he talking about? He doesn't owe me anything…_ "Um… Have you seen any of my friends?" Sora paused trying to think of the best way possible to describe the whole mass of them. "We vary in height and a lot of them have funny hair colors. Like purple, green, and pink." He finished abruptly.

It took the gentlemen a moment to process what had been said. "I'm sorry to say that I have not seen any of them." He paused, lost in thought. "However, this town is pretty big. Considering all of the people that come here are refugees, who have, unfortunately, lost their home worlds. Right now there are only three districts. This is the first one and the third district is behind me. The doors are locked for some reason though." Looking upward to stare into the boy's eyes, "When you do go looking for them; do be careful will you, Sora?" Concern filled his gaze. "It is very easy to get lost here, with it being a big sprawling place and all."

"I'll do my best! Thanks Jonathan!" Mustered Sora as he journeyed toward is next destination, giving a sad forced smile. It's not that he was ungrateful, just that nothing anyone had told him had really been of any use. Except for the fact that everyone kept stressing that the town was big. _ If this place is so huge, then how am I supposed to find anyone? How long will it take to explore this entire place? Well, at least I've met some really nice people_. He stopped in front of one of the shops, trying to decipher what kind it was.

It had two double doors, and above it was a sign indicating what was sold. But unfortunately it was just a bunch of rather random things and shapes. Not very helpful at all, to someone who was not familiar to it. _What in the?! It's just a bunch of random pictures! Well, I guess the only way to find out is to go in and ask. _ Grasping one of the handles, he pulled open the door to view the homey little store.

The little Shoppe was occupied by three little childish ducks, dressed in red, green, and blue. The wall on the right side had a little set of steps leading to another door. The blue dressed fowl was standing at the top next to the stair railing, holding a clipboard appearing to be doing a check list of the items on sale and overseeing the goings on. On the left side and part of the wall before him, were a set of shelves that held purchasable items, with a counter surrounding them in an outward 'L' shape. Upon the counter top lay an old styled register and another avian creature in red. The third feathered animal dressed in green stood in the middle, sweeping the floor. At the sound of the door closing behind the boy, the sweeping duck looked up in excitement.

"Hey guys! We have a customer!" The other two noticeably perked up at the notion. "Hi, I'm Louie!" the duck in green introduced.

"Dewey here!" cried the one upon the stairs wearing blue.

"And my name's Heuy" waved the third duck in red, now sitting upon the counter. "And~"

"Welcome to out item shop!" They called out in unison.

"Hi, I'm Sora." The youth waved slightly, a small perplexed smile gracing his features. "Aren't you guys a little young, to be taking care of a store?"

"Just cause we're young doesn't mean we can't run a shop!" ground out the azure colored duck in irritation.

"It's okay Dewey, he's new here." Consoled the other feathered brother, his vibrant cherry colored shirt stood bright against the brown of the counter, that he currently lay upon; his top half dangled behind the counter. He pulled out a clear rectangular box, filled with five crystal-like spheres with varying colored fluids filling them. Sliding off of the counter he waddled over to the tall boy still standing near the doors and handed him the box.

Sora took the box, looking curiously at it. It wasn't everyday that you would get free things from shop owners, expensive looking free things at that. "What IS this?"

An exasperated sigh came from the back of the shop, where Louie stood with his broom. "It's our promotional package that we give to all of our new customers. That way they know what kinds of things we sell. We occasionally sell weapons and armor too, but only if we have in stock. "

"Like we said, we're an Item Shop. We sell things that can be used in the field." Dewey Included, as he added to his brother's explanation.

The only fields that Sora could think of were the ones that they used at home for playgrounds. But, why would you need these weird items for them? "Why would I need this for the field?"

"Because of the heartless that's why! What are you going to use if you get hurt? They're all over the place, ya know? And the only way to protect your heart from them is to fight back! Potions and cure spells are the only things that'll help you fight them back until you can make them disappear." The green duck lightly snapped at the clueless boy.

"Maybe we should just take it back then. You're asking too many questions…then you can find out on your own and come buy some instead." The red avian in front of him suggested, as he made to retrieve the box back.

"Don't Heuy! We can't afford to lose potential customers just cause we get irritated at them." Dewey scolded from his perch upon the stairs. "He's new, like you said of course, so that means he might not know what the heartless are and potions for that matter."

"Yeah, I just kinda woke up here…" added the boy, clutching the box to him as he scratched the back of his head nervously. "So, um, how do I use these?"

Letting out a deep breath, Heuy let all his aggravation go with it. "Well, if this really is your first time seeing them, then I guess, we won't mind explaining." He tapped three bottles, a light green, a dark green, and one that looked almost black but shined a deep beryl color in the light. "These are potions. They heal a portion of health that you lose when you get hurt. This light one is good for beginners cause they usually heal you all or most of the way back to full health. The higher your experience is the less and less it'll start to heal. The darker one here is a Hi-potion. Usually, for more seasoned adventurers, cause they have the same effect a regular potion will have on a beginner. And this one," the little duck pointed to the dark almost black colored one. "Is a Mega-potion. When you use it it'll distribute throughout all the people you consider to be an ally, that's why it's so dark, cause it's concentrated. This blue one here is an Ether. It replenishes a portion of the magic you've used up. And the last one, the purple one, is an Elixir. This is a special one and usually is the most expensive because of what it does. An elixir when used restores you back to full health while also replacing your used magic and you're magic reserves. They go pretty fast when we do get to sell it here. So when you see it on sale, be sure to buy as much as you can!" He finished with a triumphant smirk on his face.

"Whoa, that is pretty helpful." The taller male stared in awe. But one thing seemed to keep bothering him. "Do I have to eat it?" He questioned, they were small enough to fit into his mouth after all.

"No you don't!" Louie shouted in slight alarm. "All you have to do is throw it up into the air, and it'll burst above you, covering your wounds and healing them. They're magically enchanted to do this to the person who is in ownership with them, so to say. So it'll follow you around if you're in the midst of battle and are constantly in motion."

"Okay, but what if I want to use it on someone else?" Sora wondered. _What if Riku or Kairi were hurt, how would I be able to use it on them?_

"That's easy! Just call out their name as you throw it into the air, and it'll appear above their heads." Dewey interjected, a knowledgeable smile plastering itself to his bill. "If you wanted to, you could also break them open, even if they are enchanted. I wouldn't know why anyone would want to do that, because it's so much easier to just toss it into the air. But, hey, to each their own." The small duck in blue shrugged.

"Alright, thanks again you guys!" Said Sora as he gave them one of his silly grins, just as he was about to leave. "Ah, before I forget. Have any other new people stopped by, yet? All of them are about my age with weird hair colors and funny clothes?" a slightly hopeful lilt lacing his tone.

The three seemed to pause and think for a moment.

"Nope" Huey shrugged his shoulders, lifting his hands in an empty gesture, sitting upon the counter once more.

"Sorry," Dewey shook his head.

"Nada." Louie dipped his head in an apologetic manner.

"Oh…Okay, thanks anyways, guys." A little down, he turned to open the door and leave.

"No problem Sora!" Huey Shouted.

"We'll let you know if we meet any newcomers!" Dewey Assured.

"Yeah! Or we'll just send them your way." Added Louie, as they all waved merrily, their farewells

"Haha~ I guess I'll stop by more often then." The spiky haired boy smiled half-heartedly, as he left the little abode and went to the next shop_. That's pretty neat, I guess. They're just kids but they really are smarter than they look, and together they can take care of their shop really well. Well, one more shop and then I have to find the entrance to the second district…hopefully it'll look just like the third district one._ He arrived at another set of double doors, with many opaque glass windows filling it. The shop was right in front of the steps that led to the square and the lamppost where he met Jin. The shop sign was much the same as the last, with an enlarged picture of a ring and many tiny random shapes after. With a sigh, Sora pushed open the doors.

"Hey there, how can I…?" the somewhat middle-aged man started, only to pause as he took in the customer in front of his doors. "Aw, it's just a kid…" the disappointment within his voice was hard not to notice as it hung in the air.

The youngster stalked up to the counter in anger, raising his voice as he semi-yelled at the grownup in front of him. "Hey! I'm not a kid!" _Just who does this old man think he is?!_ "And the name's Sora!" He finished with finality as if that was all the older male needed to know.

They were in a fairly large room with little space, if that makes any sense. On the corner to the right just after the entrance, was a…fireplace? Or would it be considered a hearth? In any case, it was huge and the top reached above his head with the chimney part going all the way up to the second floor. The mantle was low enough, that you could that you could hop onto it and have a seat; your feet dangling three to four feet off of the ground. It wasn't currently lighted though. The firewood was way inside, close to the middle and Sora would've had to stick his arm all the way in just to light it with a match. A ladder hung from the ceiling just out of reach. Beneath it were various furniture; a cushioned bench, a low table, a display case, etc. Along the left wall was a long corner counter much like the one in the item shop. At the end, near the farthest wall, was a little display case with a rather large glowing clear crystal in it, and another display case hanging on the wall by it, behind the counter of course.

The man behind the counter wore a white shirt, which seemed to cling to his well…defined torso, in a not too uncomfortable manner. A leather charm hung around his neck. Dark blue pants followed after, accompanied by a utility belt around his waist. The male had a gruff appearance but seemed nice enough, as he dutifully gnawed on the tip of his toothpick. A pair of goggles adorned his forehead, leading to blonde hair, spiked towards the middle; not anything like a Mohawk mind you. He brought his hands up in a placating gesture. "Okay, okay. Simmer down." He tried to pacify the youth, his toothpick moving up and down as he talked. "So, why the long face Sora? You lost or something?" The older male questioned in concern, at the somewhat faraway look upon the boy's face.

"NO!" The youth sputtered in denial. He quickly looked away, ashamed of his outburst. "Well, maybe…Where are we?" He asked his tone noticeably softer, with a forlorn yet curious hint to it.

The taller male blinked. "Huh?" His unintelligent reply came; he was slightly shocked of course. It wasn't everyday that some youngster would barge in asking where they were located. Besides, he seemed pretty new, so why not? With this thought, Cid then proceeded to tell Sora all he knew about the little world that everyone around called Traverse Town.

Sora had a hand to his chin, and looked as if he were thinking really hard about something. "Traverse Town, huh?" Excitement quickly replaced his contemplation. _Maybe we did finally make it to a different world!_ "So Gramps, is this really another world?" He gave a cheeky grin, knowing his little comment would get a rise out of the older male; much like it did to him earlier.

"Hey! Don't call me Gramps! The name's Cid!" The middle-aged man burst out in slight anger; swiping his arm across his nose in a habit of irritation. "Anyways…not too sure what you're talkin' about, but this sure ain't you island."

"Hm…I guess I better start looking for everyone then…" The spiky head muttered to himself as he moved to leave.

"Well…good luck with whatever it is you're doing." The older man waved. "If you ever run into trouble, you come to me. I'll take care of ya." Assured Cid as he called out his temporary goodbye.

Sora turned around just as he was about to walk out the door to wave back. "Okay. Thanks, Gramps!" He laughed as he bolted out the door and around the building and up more steps. The remnants of Cid's annoyed shout ringing in the air.

"Hey! I told you not to call me that!" A small affectionate smile landed upon his features, despite his irritation.

As he walked up the steps Sora noticed a familiar figure waving merrily to him at the top. _Is that another moogle thing?_ It stood in front of another pair of doors just like the former one he had met. Although, this one seemed much friendlier than the last_. Do they like to guard doors or something…?_

"Hi there, kupo!" The moogle seemed to be smiling up at him. "My name is Queris, kupo. I'm here to promote our item synthesis shop! We're not open yet, kupo, but research is in progress. Item synthesis and super weapon forging, kupo!" The moogle seemed to be really ecstatic about the ordeal. _Maybe they'll have some super cool looking swords or something! I wouldn't mind checking that out._ "Be sure to come check it out when we open kupo!" The plush waved once more as Sora passed by.

"I'll be sure to check it out when you guys are open, then." He nodded.

Sora passed by an empty market stall with a huge safe in the back. _I wonder what's in there. I shouldn't check it now; I have more important things to do!_ Stopping in front of two huge doors like the one for the third district, he read '2nd District' before pushing through and entering.

_Whoa! This place is huge!_ There were many buildings and shops on both sides. Countless alleyways lined the spaced in between structures. A small set of stairs led to a courtyard of sorts in the middle of the district and all the way across from him, stood a grand clock tower. Swift scuffling noises entered his sense of hearing along with harsh rapid panting. A man ran around the corner near to Sora, frantic and looking for a means to escape, before harshly tripping.

_What in the…?_ Thought Sora as a humanoid creature lightly jogged around the corner following the man and seemed to jump with joy at seeing it's pray ready for the taking. The monster was colored blue with little black curved tipped boots. Thick silver bracelets adorned its arms leading to wicked red tinted claws, and black heart shaped symbols on its palms. A black and red heart shaped symbol, with a thorny 'x' lay across its chest_. Oh no!_ The youth summoned his key shaped blade…thing. He still wasn't too sure what it was, despite it being called a keyblade in his mind. How can a key be a blade after all? All he knew was that it can hurt the weird shadow-like creatures he encountered at the island. He ran to aid the fallen man.

Only to fall a second short and the creature thrust it hand into the man's chest and ripped out a glowing heart. Without his heart the male burst into a flurry of light bubbles. With its mission done the thing disappeared in a swirl of darkness. _Just like the one that took Riku!_ "No! It got away!" A light above briefly flickered as small thin shadows appeared, crawling upon the surface of the cement before easing out of the ground. Sora gasped.

"Those creatures from the island!"

* * *

**_[The Scarf and the Ribbons]_**

An endless ocean of blue; expanded the abysmal amount of atmosphere. It was not the watery depths of the ocean but the free expanse of the sky. A multitude of white fluffy clouds dotted its fathomless domain. The deep azure of the nightly heavens seemed to envelope the two figures falling through the air. Both beings were of the fairer gender. One wore clothes of pink and rainbowy colors, while the other in varying shades of aqua.

Luna awoke to the fluttering feeling of butterflies in her stomach, along with the insane laughter of her hyperactive companion. The chilling sting of the wind as it whipped past them caused her cheeks to redden and her eyes to water. _Why are we falling? Wait…FALLING?! _

"Kyaaaaa~h!" The dark haired girl screamed. She flapped her appendages around comically, as she tried to get her bearings_. H-how did we end up in the sky?!_ "Mizu! How can you be laughing at a time like this?!" She shouted, trying to be heard over the roar of the wind in their ears. _This is why I hate heights!_ "We're going to die at the speed we're falling!" Actual tears sprang into her eyes, only to be replaced by more as the winds swept them away. She reached for the other girl's hand only to grasp it tightly. _Please…don't let us get separated…_

"Exactly!" Mizu cheerily nodded. _Is she really that crazy…?_ She didn't think her friend was that eager to pass on. "If I am going to die soon, I'd rather enjoy what little time I have left rather than worrying." She spread her arms out like a birds', still clutching to Luna's hand. Her sense of reason seemed rather straight forward. Which was a little odd for the girl, since most of her focus was centered on the fun aspect of everyday living. _Then, again, maybe she was right this time around…_ "C'mon, Luna. I know it's not your thing but try okay?" The pink haired female squeezed her distressed friend's hand in comfort, trying her hardest to loosen the girl up.

Luna could only nod in agreement before closing her eyes; taking several deep breaths. _Relax…just think of this like that one ride you always go on that sends you giggling every time it drops you that short distance from the ground before going back up, 'cept this will never go back up… People always say that sky diving and bungee jumping cures the fear of heights. I can understand to a point I guess. But while doing those activities there's the assurance of some kind of safety net. Here though, there is none._ That fact alone already cemented her nightmare. Although, the young girl wasn't about to let that fear ruin her chance to enjoy herself_. I won't let it!_ Once she calmed herself enough to think clearly, she found that she was in fact enjoying herself, even if it was just a bit.

Opening her eyes to view the eagerly anticipating girl in front of her, she couldn't help but smile. Despite Mizu's energy she really does have moments where she's serious and worries for others. Luna gave an encouraging smile. "It really isn't so bad." She softly chortled. They did their best to enjoy the dark night sky around them and the glistening of the waves as they awaited their impending doom.

_**[In a temple, on an island in the middle of the ocean]**_

The temple was dimly lit and circular in shape. Statues of former High Summoners stood to one side, while the other had little shrines for those deceased. It allowed loved ones to pay their respects. The hymn of fayth reverberating among the walls as the aeon sung it from deep within the temple. People milled about the place; priests, priestesses, worshipers, and the like. But our main focus today is the lone female figure praying in front of a tall imposing statue.

_Today is such a wonderful day Father! I have finally mastered more of my white magic skills; scan and esuna. Also, in a couple months, I will be ready to brave the cloister of trials. I am a little nervous about it, but I'm confident that I can make it with your strength on my side. Oh! And the help of my guardians of c—_

"Lady Yuna! Lady Yuna!" Softly cried the voice of one of the small village girl's, accompanied by the pattering of tiny running feet. The little girl appeared at her waist, tugging upon the hem of her sleeve. Faint yelling and excited shouts could be heard from outside. _I'm sorry father; I will try to talk to you again later. It seems that there is a commotion rising outside._ "The prophecy is coming true, Lady Yuna! The light of Yevon is descending from the heavens!" The tiny female, tugged on her sleeve in enthusiasm quickly pulling both of them out of the temple.

_The prophecy…? Oh! Not many outside of this village know about the prophecy. It is said that one day Yevon will send the power of his light down from above and that this power can help in bringing the eternal calm, or the utter destruction to all of Spira. The responsibility of this power goes to the current Summoner. That is very exciting news indeed! Although, I have no clue as to how I would manage something like that… _

Reaching the center of the village the two girls joined the throng of people that created a wide berth around the circle they used as a sort of center stage. A ball of light steadily floated downwards towards them; its light growing brighter and brighter as it neared. The sphere seemed to melt into the ground like a water drop, rippling and bathing everything in its warm radiance. Those around, sick and injured, seemed full of vitality and health once more, their wounds healed, and illness gone.

Usually when one thinks of a form of power, a mystical all-powerful orb comes to mind. Maybe some sort of weapon even, like a sword or a powerful staff. Unfortunately, not in this case… Lying in the middle of the circle, unknowing and innocent, lay a young, sleeping girl.

_**[Into the mind Luna]**_

_Where am I? And why is it so white? It's not that I hate the color; it's just a little…blinding. What was I doing before this? It's so quiet here; I could probably easily go cra-_

_**I sense an abundance of untapped power within her. Wild, untamed…** a low female voice echoed within her conscious._

_ -zy…? Oh, no! I really am starting to go crazy! Weird voices...in my head? Wait…is this even my head that I'm in? If it is…it sure is empty… with all the things going on in it, I'd imagine that it'd be full of a whole bunch of crazy stuff… but what if it's that part of me that's at peace with everything…everyone says I kinda go off into my own world when I really get into my baking and cooking… Maybe that's why it's like this? It would explain why it's so calm feeling. _

_ **What are we going to do with her?** Another female voice added. It was softer and gentler, in tone._

_ A...different one this time? She sounds really nice…kinda like big sis… but who is this 'she' that they keep mentioning? The walls pulsed around Luna as a gigantic flaring sphere appeared in front of her. It was like a way smaller version of the sun they studied so much in class, even the actions were similar. It was clear in spectrum but seemed to flash a fluorescence of colors as she placed her palm upon it. A flash of electricity was sent up her arm on contact. Not so much unpleasant like with static electricity, but more of a flash of energy that made her want to run in circles and jump for joy._

_**Kimarhi thinks, we should bring her with us.**_ _Some sort of animalistic growl rumbled about the white space, in a calm manner. _

_ W-was that some kind of animal?! And a talking one at that! We have beast people at home too…but I never got to actually meet one. They usually kept to themselves, and we are at peace with them. After all, no one wants to start another brutal war, like the one so many years ago. In any case, this mass of energy feels like it's a part of me… I wonder what it is though. Maybe…it's that power they were talking about? But then again I still don't know if they were talking about me…so I can scratch that for now I suppose. _

_ **Yes, I agree.** That gentle voice from before sounded again._

_ Reminds me so much of Nee-san…I really wish she were still around… All I have left is that pink bunny hat she made for me…and a few other possessions that mommy let me hold on to. Maybe, just maybe, I can ask the owner of that voice to sing me a lullaby, just once. That would be great~… Just like old times…_

_ **I agree, too, yah.** The sounds of a male voice this time, with an islander accent permeated the air. _

_ Hm…? That accent sounds like my new daddy's one. That's very comforting…in a way. *sigh* I miss them so much… Huh? Why would I be missing them, wasn't I just home? Wait...I'm forgetting something important aren't I? I-I don't think I've been home for a while… A beach…we went camping at a beach! My friends and I. Th-then…an island? And some new friends… _A flash of brown spiky hair._ Sora… _A deep set of blue eyes and short red hair_…Kairi… _And playful sea green eyes_…Riku…but, where have I seen his eyes before? I keep wondering that don't I? Where exactly have I seen those eyes before? _

_ **But wha' if she don' know how ta figh'?** The male voice came again._

_Fight? I don't want to fight…wait getting off track again! Arghs the voices! Where were we…islands…Destiny Islands! We were there for a few days…and then that one night…The shadows! They swallowed everyone up! A-and then I had that awful nightmare…and woke up somewhere…_

_ **If anything, I can teach her to use her magic so that you can continue your studies.** The first deep female voice started again, directed towards someone._

_ Blue…everywhere…and fluffy white things…oh…why is it so hard to remember? Blue and white fluffy stuff…ah! Sky! We-we were falling through the sky. We? That's right someone was with me. A girl. Pink…who wore an abundant amount of pink again? I should know this…mmmm…that's right her name started with an 'm'. Marina? No…I think that was her last name…M-mi…almost there… C'mon! She was helping me…reassuring me…Miz-_

_ **Okay! It's settled then.** Happily said the soft voice once more._

_ "Mizu!" She softly gasped. Her arm outstretched as if reaching for something in the distance; bolting upright from her previous sleeping position. The occupants of the room stared at her in shock. They hadn't expected her to have awoken so soon. Luna's bleary eyes took in the scene around her to find a small but cozy little home; filled with people. Well it was only four people, but it was a small house. It took her a while to register that everyone's focus was on her. She blushed madly. "Ah, um…sorry," she bowed her head in embarrassment, looking down at the sheets; not even sure for the reason of the apology. _

_ "Don' worry abou' it. Nothin' ta be sorry about, yah?" said the familiar male islander voice; trying to comfort the young girl. **Wait familiar? She was sure she hadn't met any of them before. So why had it been familiar? Oh, yeah~! She heard it when she was sleeping…that would mean that they were talking about her… that means they want her to fight. But, what for? The thought of hurting someone, anything really, didn't sit well with her.** **She wouldn't interfere if her friends were play fighting like on the island, but if it went against her morals she'd speak up about it.** _

_ Looking up she tried to place all the voices to their respected people. The voice of the islander seemed to belong to a tall burly sort of male. His ginger hair was styled in a weird fashion. Most of his hair was relatively short. While in the front it was longer, but instead of having it hang down in front of his face it was somehow styled upwards. A headband wrapped around his forehead. His attire seemed complicated to explain, but it suited his local personality. _

_ Humming in agreement, the shorter of the two females standing, nodded. "My name is Yuna, and welcome to the island of Besaid." **Oh, so she's the owner of that gentle voice. **She had shoulder length chestnut hair, which seemed to flip outwards at the front of one side. Upon her arms were long flowing sleeves that tied just above her elbows with some type of blue string. Her top consisted of a white cloth that wrapped over her neck and came down in a crossing manner across her chest. Something black could be seen hidden underneath. It was held down by…what did that one culture call them again? Oh yeah! A yellow obi held the piece together. It had a flower on it that dangled a long string of beads from the center. A long flowing skirt that reached her ankles and a set of black boots completed her outfit. There was an intricate pattern of pink and white flowers; connected with vines dancing around the skirt. _

_ "This," she motioned to the dark blue furred figure behind her. "Is Kimarhi." The imposing beastly figure gave a sort of nod in affirmation along with a soft growl. He was the tallest of those in the room. His feet were huge paws and his hands, big claws. His hair was a grayish color. Some hung freely, while the rest in braided loops flanking his cheeks, and a small ponytail in the back. The horn upon his forehead was broken. Leather belts streamed from his chest to his arms and his midsection connecting to the intricate…loincloth thing around his hips. _

_ "Hmph. Lulu." The tallest female introduced; a wary uplifting of her head. She was trying to intimidate her, Luna realized. And goodness was it working! The slightly hostile force, and the fact that she knew no one in a place she most definitely wasn't familiar with, slowly seemed to shut down her thinking process. The tall withdrawn female wore a long off the shoulder dress that showed an ample amount of her chest. Luna vaguely wondered how no one stopped to just stare, but she quickly took her eyes of the area. Her dress was long enough that it dragged a bit on the ground. The front part after her hips consisted of a collage of different sized black belts. Long sleeves encased her arms. In one hand she held a cute little plush to her torso. It had small bat like wings and a red pom pom upon its head. It vaguely reminded her of a cat. _

_ "Can you fight?" The woman's sudden question came. She seemed like a no nonsense type of person with how forward she was with her inquiry. _

_ Luna being who she was had a hard time getting her answer out; she was very flustered. "I-I…um…I don-"_

_ "It's a simple question. The answer is either a 'yes' or a 'no'. So which is it?" The older female interrupted. _

_ "N-n-no…" came the preteen's feeble reply. Her breathe hitched as the elder female's features turned to one of agitation._

_ "That's no good. Get some rest; you're lessons start at dawn." With that said, Lulu left them; all a little dumfounded. _

_ "B-but...!" Luna stuttered. She really didn't want to have to fight. In fact, if possible she'd rather learn to heal. She sighed heavily. It was no use; that lady already left…_

_ "Don' worry abou' her, yah? My name's Wakka by the way." The burly male assured; ruffling the young girl's hair, as he too left the home. Kimarhi left soon after with a bow of his head. _

_ The youngest of the band of people, Yuna, stayed behind, offering a soft smile as she made her way towards the female in the bed. She wove her arms in an intricate manner before finally ending with both of her hands held in front of her stomach, as if she were holding a ball. She bent forward slightly. "It is so nice to actually meet you, Light of Yevon. Prophecy has foretold of your coming, but has never specified a time period." _

_Puzzled Luna could only incline her head a bit in a form of a bow. "I'm sorry but…"she, paused trying to figure out what in the world was currently happening. Of course she could be in one of those 'other worlds' that Sora and the others kept talking about. "I absolutely have no clue as to what you're talking about." She was pretty good at geography names and none of the ones mentioned so far had sounded even remotely familiar; whether it is the island name or that other weird one. Maybe it was a deity or something. "Not to be rude…but I have never heard of Besaid or even Yevon, for all that it matters." She pushed aside the blankets and moved to get up. "All that matters to me right now is that I got separated from my friend by this strange light that enveloped us, and ended up here. I need to go find her." Standing she found her way blocked by the taller female; her arms spread out. _

"_I'm sorry but I can not let you go." Yuna had a certainty in her voice that made the younger girl pause in her tracks. _

_ "W-what? Why not?"_

"_If you truly do not know anything about this world, its customs and its dangers, then you will perish on your own." An ominous but rather sad tone in the teenage female's voice. "If you do come from somewhere that is not here, then you do not know about the monsters that lie in the darkness and lurk just outside of the village during the day." She warned._

"_W-what…? Dangers? B-but my friend is a troublemaker! What if she wasn't as fortunate as I am? What if she got stuck in some forest or something and gets mauled by…by whatever it is you have out there!" A sort of frenzy slowly started to fill the young ones voice. She scrambled to her feet stumbling towards the entrance. _

"_I understand your concern, but you must calm down!" Reprimanded Yuna; standing in the way once more. "Running into the face of danger will only succeed in jeopardizing your life." She wrapped her arms around the youth, trying to placate her. Struggling in vain was all the little one could do as hot tears slowly leaked out of her eyes. _

_After a few short minutes, Luna turned into the older female's awkward embrace and softly cried. "My friends… We all got separated." She hiccupped. "I don't know about everyone else, but I was lucky enough to have Mizu with me." A loud sob was muffled as she buried her head as much as she could, so that it wouldn't be heard as much. "That is until the light separated us!" _

_Yuna led them to the bed once more and sat upon it, with Luna crawling in after her. She let the youth lay her head upon her lap. "What do you usually do in this kind of situation?" She asked. _

"_What do you mean?" asked Luna as she looked up at the older one, marveling at the two different colors of her eyes. _

"_I'm sure everyone goes home at some point in time." A small amusing smile crossed Yuna's lips. _

"_W-well, I usually tell myself that I'll see them again the next day or after a weekend." Luna seemed to contemplate. Truthfully, she has never really thought about it before. She just always seemed to know that she'll get to see them again eventually._

"_Then do that! In two months time, we will be able to leave the island on a boat. I will be starting my journey as a Summoner. While we wait we can go to the temple and pray to Yevon for their continued safety. That way, you will always have a few familiar faces to travel with who won't look at you funny because you do not know this or that." The brunette decided as she looked to the shorter figure on her lap, excitement shining clear as day in her eyes. _

_The bunny lover couldn't help but gasp. "T-two months? What is something bad happens within that time?" She couldn't help but think of all of the possible situations that could come true in that duration. _

"_Then you need to have faith and keep hope; for your friends and for yourself. Because in this world, under the siege of Sin we need these two things to survive." Concluded Yuna, a small sense of foreboding shadowing them with the weight of her words. _

"_O-okay…" **Sin…?** **Wasn't that, like a religious thing? Having to do with all the bad stuff that you do, right?** In any case, Luna nodded to herself in determination. "In the meantime…do you think you could teach me? I mean about this place? Whenever you have free time that is…." She really didn't want to walk out and have people expecting things from her that she didn't know about…_

"_I will but for now, sleep, okay?" Yuna slowly got up and placed the youths head upon an actual pillow. _

_The currently bed-ridden girl nodded. "My name's Luna by the way." A fairly sleepy smile fell upon her visage. "Luna Tredemei, like the moon high in the sky~" she blinked owlishly before turning to the older girl; a thought had just struck her._

"_Can you sing me a lullaby?"_

* * *

_**[Waking Dreams]**_

_ Although it was early in the day, gloomy heavy-ridden clouds hung in the morning sky, causing the world seem darker than usual. **I'm…in that one room again. From the last dream I had of this place. But, it looks a little different now. There are a lot more THINGS, I guess. **Stuffed animals dotted the free spaces here and there. Little knick knacks were lying upon tables and decorating bookshelves, which were packed thus, leading to the extra shelves added. **I wonder where that weird girl is this time.**_

_ Walking to the door at the opposite end of the room, he pulled it open. He could vaguely remember that the other one led to a restroom. It had been months since he last had that other dream. **Her room is so weird. Why is everything painted with pictures of rabbits? ** Each of the four walls depicted a scene of a family of rabbits having a picnic under the sun. Her ceiling, besides the stars had a rabbit sleeping in the curve or a crescent moon. The boy was mildly surprised that her floor wasn't painted as well. **And why does she need her own bathroom anyway? Was she secretly a spoiled brat or something? **_

_ Through the open doorway, he could hear a string of off tune erratic notes. **What in the world is that? It was like something was dying…or was trying to die, but failed miserably.** When the noise stopped, a new sequence followed. It was the same as the last, but had a much better tone to accompany the rhythm, with a richer sound. He continued to pursue the pattern of melodies that copied each other down a set of stairs and through a few hallways, to reach a rather large room. It consisted of a lowered seating area in the middle, with a small set of stairs leading into it and a table in the center of the area. A fireplace was on one side. On the wall opposite of where he stood were two huge glass double doors with little paintings on some of the squares._

_ **Oh…she's learning to play the violin. That would explain why the first set of notes I heard seemed to get better and better. Although, it still sounded like it needs some work.** The girl (they hadn't quite given their names last time), stood next to a taller female. They each held similar instruments, but like the two sisters (he assumed), they differed in size. The smaller form had her hair flowing freely, stopping short a few inches past her shoulder, with two little pony tails at the top. She wore a set of dark blue overalls, of the shorts variety, with a pale yellow t-shirt underneath. The older female had shoulder length hair that framed her face in waves. A pair of glasses sat upon her nose, laying over a deep set of sapphire, unlike her counterpart's which were a light sky in color. The taller girl wore a dress that fell to her knees. It had big blue plaid decorations all over. A thin purple tie around the waist, and the straps fell in a 'v' pattern across her chest, accentuating her curves, yet still being very modest. A dark blue half jacket covered her shoulders. He assumed they were sisters._

_ "Almost got it, watch closely, I'll show you again alright?" The well practiced musician intoned gently. A soft almost dazed look settled itself upon her features as she raised her instrument. Laying her crown upon the wider edge she pulled the bow across the strings. The device gave off a much richer tone than that of its counterpart. She played a homey little song, he supposed, that the younger was trying to learn. Her eyes closed at one point, as her movements seemed to sway with the melody. She ended with a soft note that seemed to fade into the surroundings. "Hmm…something like that okay?" She pointed to something that lay on the stand. "Don't forget to stretch your hand a bit farther down when you play these notes. And don't try to express yourself until you get these down first. When you master it, you can change the flow to your hearts content!" The older sibling encouraged, with a soft smile. _

_ "Okay, nee-san." The younger of the two nodded determined. Her performance wasn't as great as her sister's but it was way better than when she had first started. A loud slam was heard behind him; the sound echoing throughout the whole first floor. A tall burly, curly haired man stalked down the hallway, anger clearly etched into his features and permeating the air around him. He stopped at the edge of the room._

_ "I want that F#$%#$G racket gone! Five hours…five F*****g hours of that noise is driving me insane! I'm trying to work in there!" He exclaimed pointing to the door he just came out of. "Put those away right now! After this, I better not here another peep out of those **STUPID toys** for the rest of the day, or you'll find it in the trash; broken beyond repair." He threatened, a menacing look fixed onto his face as he stomped back to his supposed office. _

_ **Was that their dad?! He's so mean! ** The young boy turned back to look at the two females. **Is she…okay?** The little girl looked like one of those trapped animals, scared and trembling, as she pressed herself into her older sister. Said girl was holding the other protectively, a scornful look had fallen upon her visage. She pet the younger female's hair in a comforting fashion._

_ "Krinne-nee…what's wrong with daddy?" She questioned, curious yet still a bit scared. _

_ "Don't worry, dad is going through something called mid-life crisis right now, he'll be back to normal in no time." She hugged the little one close. "Let's put everything away, and then you can play outside for a bit, okay?" The shorter female's eyes shone, her enthusiasm renewed. **Outside…? But it's raining out there!** Nodding she carefully, yet swiftly put everything away. Polishing and wiping down her instrument before putting it back in its case. "I'll be right here watching, while I do my homework okay?" Nodding, she lightly ran to one of the hall closets and delved into its depths. _

_ She emerged with a huge armful of plush, fluffy towels. Passing right by, she headed to one of the doors that led to the backyard. Pulling open one of the doors, she place the towels right on the inside of them. Turning back around, she made her way to the kitchen nearby and climbed upon the counters; pulling cups and a few other things from its drawers and cupboards. Jumping off she landed in a crouch, and made her way back towards the door; her gaze downcast, thinking about something. **Am I invisible again…? If she doesn't stop soon she'll run right into me, or would that be through?** _

_ She stopped, abruptly, a few feet in front of him. Slowly lifting her gaze to meet with his, she stared with wide unblinking eyes. A wide smile appeared as she offered her hand. A quick flash of something had appeared as if just a passing emotion, within her blue depths. **That was weird…I'm not too sure I trust whatever that look was. It reminds me of the few times Sora gets crazy ideas that I end up not liking. Like that one time he wanted to steal the baby seagull egg when the mama bird was still there…for fun…the mother wasn't too happy about that. We couldn't get near the bridge for a while after that, without having to run for their lives. Once the baby was born everything was good again, but that lesson was learned and we definitely aren't going to do that again.** "Hand?" she emphasized with a shake of her own. **I really don't know about this…** "Please?" she begged, a small cute pout forming upon her features. **How anyone can say no to that is beyond me…** he sighed. **I guess I'll indulge her a bit then. **_

_ He placed his hand into her warm smaller one. Upon doing so he was greatly unprepared for the tugging as she pulled him rapidly to the open door. **I knew I wouldn't like it! She planned it all out, the doors, the massive amount of towels, and the extra cups for later! She knew I was here the entire time!** It was too late for him to try and stop as they were already in the rain within seconds. **I can't believe she dragged me into this…**they were soaked in no time at all. The girl had stopped just at the edge of the porch overhang, where it was dry. She let go of my hand before turning and grinning; she laughed, madly…and took off. Twirling, spinning, and jumping, she had her arms spread out as she splashed in the many puddles adorning her lawn. Peals of laughter coming from her in waves at all the times she might have slipped because of running into muddy patches barefoot. **There's really nothing I can do about this, huh? As the old saying goes, 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em'. Well there really isn't anything to beat…but I guess I could join her and enjoy myself. **Pulling off his shoes he placed them upside down on the porch, trying to rid them of their squishiness, along with his socks. Running up to her he jumped into a particularly muddy puddle, surprising her as she got splattered with the mucky mess, but in doing so he slipped and ended up in the sticky gunk as well. _

_ …_

An hour and a half later when they were tired from running around chasing each other. They rinsed off as much of the mud that had gotten on them, with the still currently raging downpour outside, and ventured back in to the home. The two children, wrapped within warm fluffy towels, sipped at the hot chocolate topped with an abundant amount of whipped cream, that they had found waiting for them once they were safely inside.

"You're kinda crazy, you know that?" announce the male, as he took a tentative sip at the steaming cocoa. Examining the girl next to him, he took notice of the way her normally straight hair, started to slowly dry and curl just slightly at the edges. A look of pure bliss had settled upon her features as she took sip by sip of her chocolaty delight.

"I know~!" She chirped; a fluffy white mustache had attached itself to her upper lip as she set the cup down for a bit. "I like it better that way. 'Sides you can't say that you didn't have fun either." Her lips were pursed, while she fiddled with the handle of her cup. She was right; he had so much fun splashing about the watery pools, not caring the he had been getting wet.

"Ya know? We haven't even told each other our names yet." Stated the male as he watched the girl spread small amounts if the cream onto her cheeks; looking very much like whiskers.

"That's right, huh?" She spread more on the other cheek as well. "Hmm…I guess you can call me Usagi then!" declared the shorter youth as she added a tip of white to her nose. She turned towards her male visitor. "It's not my real name but it's one I like." She smiled a strange smile, one that still fit her but matched her 'markings' really well.

Least to say, he was surprised. "Rabbit is right; all you need now are the ears to match." This explained all the paintings in her room; she must really love the animal. "But, why nicknames?" It was a strange suggestion, of course she hadn't voiced it, but he could tell with the fact that she gave out a different name than her original.

"I was thinking…well, I know it's a one in a million chance, but I wanted to save our real names for when we meet in real life and not these dream ones." She carefully wiped the melting substance off of her face, and went to drink more of the chocolaty goodness.

"Well, its sort of an impossible idea isn't it? But I do agree with you, if we weren't meant to meet then why are we having dreams of each other?" The sea eyed boy lowered his lids in thought. "If you have to call me anything, I'd say Willis." A vein at his temple throbbed slightly, much to his chagrin, at the soft 'pfft!' heard on the edge of his hearing. "I like that name a lot. It means 'Resolute Protector'." He stated in slight annoyance.

"Well, if you like the meaning so much, why not Liam or Quilliam? Or something along those lines?" The female asked. She started to add more to the new mustache she had acquired; not that the boy next to her knew about it, with his eyes closed and all.

"I've thought about that before, and I like Willis out of all of them. If you're going to keep making fun of it then I would rather just tell you my real name." He spoke with a growing irritation.

"No! I won't laugh anymore, I promise! See?" She poked him slightly in the cheek, hoping he'd look at her.

And boy did him! Sputtering into his cup he choked on what little of the liquid that had gone down his wind pipe. His harsh coughs soon turned into heartfelt chuckles. Usagi, while his eyes were closed, had created a full blown beard from whatever whipped cream she had left. That combined with her, now wild looking, hair, looked so hilarious he couldn't stop the need that burst out.

The sky-eyed girl may have promised not to laugh, but that didn't stop the sly smirk that fell unto her lips at that moment. "There you go Willis! I figured if I could get a carefree expression out of you then, all is good. It makes you look more like a 'Willis' than your regular ones." She smiled good naturedly.

"O-okay! I get it! Just…just wipe that stuff off of your face already!" He exclaimed in between breathless gasps. She was making funny faces that cause him to laugh, more so, causing his stomach to hurt and tears to leak out of the corners of his eyes.

Giggling lightly, the young girl grabbed a napkin from nearby and proceeded to wipe her pseudo beard off. "oh! Willis, you have something here." She pointed to his nose. Some whipped cream gotten stuck there when we started coughing into his cup a moment earlier. "Here let me help you wipe it off." She brought the napkin she had just been using near. The male started to protest seeing a glint briefly pass through her momentarily innocent looking orbs.

"Wait! No, I got it!" His arms waved frantically in front of him. Closing his eyes as the napkin neared, he waited for the feeling of even more whipped cream landing upon his face. Only to feel a dry portion of the once used napkin swiped at the tip of his nose. "B-but-!" He stammered, incredulous.

"What? You thought I was gonna do this?" Usagi giggled as she smeared the napkin onto his cheek, thus confirming his suspicions. The two gave mirthful laughs as the rest of their time was filled with moments like this and easy chats here and there. The frightening experience from earlier temporarily wiped from their memories.

The warmth of the conversation and the overall feeling of his surroundings left a small glow within Willis's heart as the surroundings seemed to warp and change. The heat was slowly being exchanged with a creeping chill.

…

The male blinked slowly trying to view the area around him. He tried to get things into focus as he pushed himself off of the cold hard ground he found himself upon. Riku could only stare at the surroundings. _Why am I having those dreams again?_ Everything was still blurry, but he knew for sure that he was finally off of that island he had called home. "W-where am I?" He whispered to himself. As focus finally came, he viewed water rushing upward all around him. In front of him, little pieces of land floated upwards, leading to a plateau ahead. _Where is everyone?_ "Sora! Kairi! Guys!" he shouted as he looked around, hoping against all odds that they were just playing a joke on him and were hiding in the many crevices. Dyne and Mizu seemed the type to do that kind of stuff. His shoulders slumped in defeat when it became apparent that none of the others had made it here. _Was I wrong? Did they end up somewhere else? Or…or simply get consumed by the darkness? I was sure we all got off safely…why didn't we all get here together?_

Upon the plateau, unknown to the male, stood a tall figure clad in black. A scheming look filling its eyes as a devious smirk made its way upon its lips. Another shorter figure stood at its side, also clad in black, with a deep purple lining the outlines of its coat and striped on the outside of its pant legs. Its buttons were also the purple color as well. "Another pawn for you to play with." It stated.

The taller imposing figure only hummed in response, pleased.

* * *

[Nova]

"Where in the world am I ...?" wondered Nova. Surely this was not Destiny Islands, as lush, sharp blades of grass and regular trees were about the vast, foreign landscape. 'More importantly,' she thought, _'... where's everyone else?' _

Nova had never actually been lost before. The place she and her friends had grown up in was pretty direct, as most people went to one or two of the schools nearby, and the neighborhood was located at the base of the city. The stores were also near where she lived, and if she were to venture anywhere else, the elaborate bus system would take the passersby to their course.

At first, Nova decided to stay put for what seemed like an hour. She did not carry a watch with her like Gizmo, was not always prepared like Luna with her jumble bag. Her stomach growled. What she would give at the moment for Luna's snacks!

_ Rumble rumble. _Wondering how long she had been sleeping for, she decided that maybe it was some sick prank. Getting impatient, she climbed up a nearby tree's roots, holding the trunk for support.

The lay of the land was pretty monotonous, but much bigger than Destiny Islands. The thought occurred to her that maybe she landed back in their world. Or, even better, those _other_ worlds they talked about. True, she would not have minded to go back to their old lives, but being out with her friends made the girl love this freedom that she normally did not get at home. She also loved to explore.

_Forget it_. She decided to move around and look for her friends.

Looking upon trees and trees, there would be a bush here and there. After what seemed to be another forty five minutes, Nova discovered structures rapidly appearing in her path across a neatly trimmed grass clearing.

"Wow!" Nova exclaimed aloud. There appeared to be a city of toy blocks. Pastel greens, light pinks, pale blues; they were very vibrant, and very reminiscent of the toy blocks that toddlers would play with in their world. Many blocks had prints on them. Shapes of bears, happy faced crocodiles, and other animals were on the bricks. Borders of white, orange, purple. Other blocks were shaped like fruit, flowers, and even stars.

She saw a weird, black diamond-esque structure further along. It gave her a bad foreboding as _oomph!_She felt something squishy connect with her arms and legs.

She looked down at her form as several black blobs with pointy ears, glowing yellow eyes and white spheres with beady black eyes peered at her. Other small figures of various colors were approaching her. She was tempted to shake them off, but they looked and felt to be causing no harm. In fact, they felt like soft cushions or stuff animals come to life.

"Pew pew?" squeaked one. It had a soft, light voice which doubly reminded Nova of a nursery. She picked up a black squishy that tried to hop up and greet her. They could fit in the palm of her hand, like a baseball. Its eyes looked inquisitive.

"Can you say anything else?" asked Nova, poking the side of its head (or was it cheek?)

Luna's voice suddenly rang in her head. "Nova remember your manners if we do happen to see these worlds Sora and the others wanted to see. We gotta introduce ourselves and... "

Sometimes Nova zoned out during Luna's reprimands. It's not that Nova was that bad of a listener, she just had a habit of going off into her own world of thoughts without realizing it. 'Gotta be alert now,' is what she first told herself when she came to her senses earlier. She was cautious at the fact no one was with her when she woke up.

"Peeeeeeew," it tilted its head sideways. Another light green blob tried to jump up and get her attention.

"Bom bom bom!" The blob head had a pale pacifier in its mouth, two black beady eyes and few bumps on its head. Truth be told, this looked more like a green sludge as it admitted bubbles above it.

Curious of its texture, she picked up the other blob with her hand. "Hiiii," exclaimed the button capped girl. "I'm Nova! What's your name?" This blob felt a bit cooler, like she was holding on to slush, except for the fact it was not damp. "... Errrrrr I'd shake your hand but you guys don't seem to have any?"

Failure struck as it replied with its usual response. Other than appearing friendly, the creature seemed not have understood her. Several small crowds of these blobs were gathering. Nova had not noticed she was surrounded.

'Well they're not dangerous so it should be okay,' she told herself. She turned her head slowly from the left to right, surveying the land. Besides some other blobs, there appeared to be eggs. Many of the other blobs were near there.

The eggs had patterns, much like the blocks. Hearts, tiger prints, lightning... Nova was tempted to go there and crack one open when a deathly alert crossed her mind immediately afterward.

"You," she pointed at the blob in her left hand, with four fingers to support the inhabitant. "And you," she pointed to the other black blob in her right hand. "Come from that?" she gestured slowly from the eggs' direction back to the blobs, hoping they would understand and give her a decent reply.

Before they could make any sort of reaction, however, she heard voices.

"I just don't get it," complained a boy's voice loudly. "We got rid of like almost all the really crazed up Digimon in the Digital World, why can't our digimon digivolve now except for Hikari's-"

"Daisuke be quiet, and look at that," commanded a girl's voice, ushering to the boy who had spoken that they had now reached their destination. Silhouettes of six people were coming in at large as Nova, carefully nudging the blobs to move, hid behind some blocks.

Truth be told, unlike all her other friends, Nova did not care for rules as much. She might be trespassing, but she wanted to explore this toy block town a bit more. They could be the authority at this world. The last thing Luna would want to hear about is her getting arrested in some strange land.

_'Digital World? Is that what I heard?'_

Feeling daring, Nova took a peek between the blocks. The first person she noticed, walking slightly ahead of all the others, was presumably Daisuke. He had a spiky ball for hair with side bangs and goggles to separate his mid-bangs. He also what looked kinda like a bomber jacket, with a furry collar and a flame-like pattern imprinted all around a light yellow shirt, and olive colored shorts with orange, strapped boots. He also wore yellow gloves that matched the outlines of his flames on his jacket.

"Uh oh..." Nova thought to herself, as she looked at Daisuke and the girl, who were leading the bunch. They both had gloves.

The purple-clad overalled girl quickly jumped to the conclusion that those things were, perhaps, not good for humans to touch, as some plants and animals had poisonous skins and surfaces. Studying her hands, no strange marks, bruises, bumps had appeared on there. She was in the clear for now.

She listened intently again as the two bickered.

"Miyako for the last time, whose digimon, when combined with Ken's, makes that awesome, awesome helluva fighter, _Imperialdramon?_" Daisuke asked aggressively. He was definitely headstrong, but perhaps overly so. Actually, he came off a bit cocky.

"I like Imperialdramon more when he's in that dragon mode... the fighter mode is more effective overall though," said another voice. This was also presumed to be male, but he sounded calm, collected, and smart.

Miyako, the boy Daisuke was walking beside, giggled as she pointed at someone behind them. "You're so cute when you blush, Ken! Don't be modest... I hate to admit it to Daisuke, but when Veemon and Wormmon combine, you're easily the strongest of our group's digimon..."

"Ahem!" said another unfamiliar male voice. Nova took another peek to see the group in full force. Before, they were approaching in a hunched group but Daisuke and Miyako's strides had made them block anyone else from view. She could now clearly see all of them, but she had not noticed that these six also had something behind them.

"Let's not forget that Hikari's digimon was the only that could digivolve this week. We've been investigating some of File Island, but we could not take on that group of Ogremon without Nefertimon's Rosetta Stone!"

A blonde hair boy with a white fisherman looking cap, yellow and sky blue long sleeved shirt, and turquoise looking boots snapped at Daisuke for bragging too much.

A firm, feminine voice erupted below them. "But I had to warp digivolve to Magnadramon, or we'd be toast."

"Toast? Let's go ask Elecmon if he has any, I'm starved from all that walking and asking digimon if anything weird is going on," came another voice. Nova saw something pointed and blue behind them as she heard footsteps rumbling east of where she was crouching. Blocks blocked her view of whatever else they were talking to.

_Hm, mon though... why is that added to a bunch of things...? Maybe it's a type of language, or something they add to be polite?_

Nova dismissed the whole glove thing as she saw a little boy in tanned long sleeves and black pants, the one who had said Imperialdramon's dragon form is much cooler than the fighter form.

_Some people here sure dress cool, that's for sure_, the girl told herself.

Miyako's head adorned a helmet over her long purple hair which flailed out. She also had a tan vest covering a light blue long sleeve, with baggy red pants that reminded her of Sora, and light green boots that had zippers. Her pants, however, did not bulge out as much as the spiky haired boy's did. She also wore big around glasses over her purple eyes.

Thinking of her not so long ago new friend from Destiny's Islands, Nova decided she would come out. She had seen a flash of pink and light grey, but had not carefully seen the others as her glances were quick. They did not look like cops or any sort of authority; they, in fact looked to be around her age.

She leapt out immediately on impulse. Happy to see humans, she shouted "I'm Nov-"

"BOOM BUBBLE," screamed another voice. A flying medium orange and cream colored thing with blue, outlined eyes and bat wings growing out the sides of its head shot a clear something as Nova doubled backward.

Nova dizzily almost hit the side of a block as one of the blobs, a one with a leaf growing behind it, caught her head's fall.

"TAKERU I FOUND ANOTHER CHOSEN!" said the flying, bat winged thing. It wasn't that much bigger than the blobs, but it talked.

"Where?" asked Takeru. He was the boy with the fishermen looking hat.

"Err we're sorry but the digiworld is closed until we figure out why the digimon can't digivolve. It's not that we don't trust the newer chosen children, but the crested chosen are currently investigating the matter. Can't explore the Digiworld with just rookies, not with all the champions and up running about. Don't get me wrong, we just don't want to complicate things with having to find lost chosen and digimon too," said a short haired boy with dark blue hair. It almost looked black. His eyes were slightly lighter in color. Ken was the one in a light grey suit and black soles.

"Spoken like a true, former Kaiser!" applauded Daisuke. "I'm Daisuke, heeyy!" He beamed. "Oh, and that guy who made that great speech is Ken."

A short haired girl in a pink and white shirt with a whistle around her neck, added politely, "Didn't you get our e-mails?" She also had on long sleeved fingerless gloves that had a decorative hole on the outer hand area. "Oh, I'm Hikari by the way," she said, extending her hand to handshake.

Nova shook her head to stop the temporary ringing in her head from the flying thing's attack. "I'm Nova!" she smiled

"Sorry," said Takeru, giving a small glare at the bat thing with his sky blue eyes. "Patamon was just looking out for me. I'm Takeru." He gave a slight wave with his hand.

The little boy gave a polite smile. He was very reserved. "I'm Iori." He had a neatly trimmed bowl haircut with a plain lightly tanned colored long sleeve and dark purplish brown pants. The cuffs and upper collar of his top wear had the same colored trimmings as his lower garment.

"Name's Miyakoooo-whoaa," said Miyako, as a bird looking thing (it reminded Nova of a hawk, with its red and white coloring, but stood on two's and looked more humanoid) wrapped its arms around her head. It also had on a headband belt with a feather sticking out, much like Indians would wear.

"Hawkmon don't sneak up on me like that!" she said. Nova began to notice they only added -mon to the creatures.

Hawkmon, who stood on twos, was half the height of Miyako. "Ooo names Hawkmon, how do you do," it flapped and landed beside her, giving her a slight bow. The voice sounded male, and owl-like.

"Whoaaa there's a party here," said an exasperated voice.

Nova could not describe what this one looked like. It was red, with purple stripes like a tiger, except for its belly, but also had peacock like tail with similar shaded markings. Its feet had 3 white spiky nails which looked claw-like, and its ears reminded her of a rabbit. Just like Patamon, it had friendly blue eyes.

"ELECMON!" said Takeru. "Nice to see ya, meet our new friend." He gestured toward Nova as a blue looking dinosaur with a horn for a nose and a yellow shaped V on its forehead emerged into view. Behind them was a white cat with purple tipped ears and striped tail which also had similar purple tips. The peculiar thing about the cat was that it wore tiger printed looking hand ware.

Also behind them was an olive bug looking thing clad with antennas and with a pincer mouth, plus a yellow turtle dinosaur thing with matching yellow whiskers and golden shell with red markings on its forehead.

'_Oh wait not turtle, it's a... a...' _Nova tried to think of the animal, as Myakka waved her hand in front of her. She pointed to where she was staring at. "That's Armadillomon, Iori's digimon. Pretty cool, huh?"

"Oh yeah, armadillo!" exclaimed Nova, out loud. "I was trying to think of what animal it was."

Miyako and the others laughed. "Hey, you're pretty funny, you know that?"

Nova tried to smile but could not hide her discomfort. "Uhm... I'm not from around here."

Daisuke laughed in amusement. "Great neither are we! Our digimon are though."

"Actually all digimon are from here! This is where digimon are born," interjected Elecmon. "This is Primary Village!"

Nova was suddenly reminded of the eggs, eyeing them once again out of the corner of her eye. "Oh," said the lost girl. ".. Actually, I don't think I'm even a chosen child, whatever that is… I don't suppose you guys can tell me where Destiny Islands is?" She gave them a hopeful look.

"We don't know no Destiny Islands," said Armadillomon. He had a bit of a southern type of accent.

"Yeah, Armadillomon can digivolve into a submarine looking digimon that can travel across long distances of water," explained Iori. "He's my digimon, by the way." He gave the gold plated armadillo a proud look as he reminded the baffled girl of who the owner was. The green eyed creature beamed back.

"No Destiny Islands? Are you sure you guys have been all over the... Digiworld, was it?" said Nova. She started to worry. Sora and the others talked of other worlds, but Nova had naturally assumed they would all be in the same area. More importantly, she had no recollection whatsoever of what happened. She slept on Destiny Islands and woke up in a forest-like area. Did they all, perhaps, get taken by yet another wave somewhere? And if so, was everyone safe?

"Oh no," said Hikari, her ruby eyes flashed in slight downcast. "Not us, our digimon and friends have. There's still a bunch of places we wanted to explore, but we were busy showing our digimon some places in the real world too."

"Real... world..?" asked Nova, completely confused.

"Yeah," said Ken, looking at her quite flustered. "You're definitely not a digimon; I would have remembered controlling someone like you back from my Kaiser days." He gave a shudder and a look of disdain. He always had a pang of guilt when he recalled some of the cruel actions he did as a Kaiser.

"Can we try look anyway?" cried Nova, with a more panicked look, but tried to hide it. "How am I gonna get back to Destiny Islands otherwise unless- Hey, have you guys met anyone else here?"

Takeru shook his head. "We'll be happy to help you look for your friends though, since it's dangerous in the Digital World without companions. You don't have a partner, do you?"

"You mean a digimon partner? Can I have one?" said the girl suddenly excitedly, looking at Veemon. "Dinosaurs are cool…" Daisuke chuckled at her sudden mood shift.

Hikari frowned. "Yeah we definitely gotta help her, but I thought we made it clear to all the people wanting to go to the Digital World that it's dangerous now. Taichi and the others are back in the real world in case something happens there. Taichi is my big brother, by the way," added Hikari; spotting Nova's further confused looks.

Miyako held a hand up to everyone. "Hold it, she said she's not from here, and does not know what the real world is either," said the spunky girl. "What are you trying to say here? That there's a third world beyond the Digital World and real world?"

Nova shrugged. "I didn't even know such a place called the "Digital World" existed. Maybe Destiny Islands is a part of it."

Wormmon, the pincer mouthed digimon spoke up. "Well it's possible... some parts of the Digital World do shift a bit, maybe a chunk of land or two broke off."

"Well," chimed in Iori. "You do KNOW to get to the Digital World; you need to get sucked in through the computer, right?"

Nova jumped up in utter alarm. _They were in a computer?_

"We're in a—"

"No no it's more like that's just a gateway to get here, we're not really in a computer literally, or else someone could just steal that one computer and run off with it," said Daisuke.

"Oh god Daisuke stop making it more confusing for her," sighed Takeru hopelessly.

Ken and Nova both suddenly had a connection together.

"Wait, maybe this is all related to why only Gatomon (he gestured to the catlike digimon with purple tips) can digivolve," said the former Kaiser.

The flustered girl added, "…and maybe I landed here to help you guys. I don't mind, but I do want to see my friends again."

"Well, let's educate you a bit about this place first!" said Daisuke, clapping his hands together excitedly and putting goggles over his brown eyes as if he were a professor. He pulled Nova to a block with a chalkboard further down to their right that she never noticed before as a red blob with spiky bumps on its head tackled her from a crevice above a watermelon block.

As Nova held the baby digimon around her chest, he explained the basics of digimon as he doodled on the board with the chalk on its extended wooden rack. They hatched from eggs, called digieggs, and then their baby form is called in training. They evolve into rookies, then champions, and ultimates. To reach mega, the strongest form, they had to warp digivolve, usually from a powerful force. Daisuke showed his crests on what appeared to be an electronical device. They looked kinda like miniature walkie-talkies to Nova. The light blue handle on Daisuke's "digivice" reminded her of Luna. She would have loved this type of gimmick.

The crests themselves as each one's digivice, all different colors, were quite decorative looking symbols that was resemblant to hieroglyphs – a sun like symbol for courage, a heart shaped outline for love. The other crests were friendship, reliability, sincerity, knowledge, hope, and kindness. Nova got lost between the symbols, especially since she felt courage and light looked a bit similar. Light, which was Hikari's crest, looked more flowerlike, or a cross with four diagonal points.

Shock surged through Nova as she came to the realization. _The tale Luna was telling Riku and the others on Destiny Islands._ "Something about light and Calescence and something..." she murmured.

"'Scuse me?" said Daisuke inquisitively, looking flabbergasted as his lecture was interrupted. The other chosen children, except for Ken, were not paying him any mind. The bag strapped onto Miyako revealed sandwiches for them and the digimon. She handed one to Nova, and then, with an angry piercing look, put one in Daisuke's mouth before he could boast about how he had inherited what he would consider the "best" crests from his idol, Taichi – courage, and friendship, which apparently had come from Takeru's older brother Yamato.

"Oh, don't mind him," said Miyako as she rolled her eyes. "It's okay if you don't remember everything right off the bat… the world became more and more known to us over time, it's not like we learned everything in one setting like what he's trying to make you do." The goggled haired boy flinched at the word "made" but decided not to argue.

"We'll explain more after lunch, I'm famished," said Gatomon nonchalantly, biting into her sandwich.

"So," said Patamon suddenly, giving Nova a reproachful look for trying to attack her earlier, "What's Destiny's Islands like?"

"Wait, I'm not from Destiny Islands," she exclaimed as she had quickly eaten another cheese sandwich from Miyako. "I'm from another place... I was with my friends at Ferris Beach before this and …" she looked annoyed as this became increasingly confusing by bringing in yet another world into the discussion. All of them, however, looked interested as Nova, much to Daisuke's discern, erased his doodles of rookies and champions to explain her travels.

* * *

[_**Luna**_]

"Ow!" lightly rang out Luna's cry of pain as the young female rubbed the now sore spot on the back of her skull. The villagers could only chuckle at her expense. She was having another meditation session with the elder black mage. This would be her third day trying meditation. It had been six days since she had awakened in the little village. Six days of shadowing one of the four each time, with the occasional adventure with the crusaders Luzzu and Gatta, curiously taking in all there is around her. These came after her classes with Lulu of course. The day after she came from the sky, Yuna and the others had decided to hold a town meaning, to assess the situation.

At first the town's people were a bit disappointed; she came down swathed in a white light after all! She was supposed to help bring about the eternal calm, but as the meeting slowly went on they became a bit relieved, instead. The prophecy did say that it was possible for the Light of Yevon to bring about the destruction to all of Spira as well. A mystery, though, was the healing and rejuvenation of all the villagers when the light she appeared in, dissipated. The problem that didn't settle with them was that now their village summoner, well summoner in training, and her guardians took it upon themselves to be in charge of the little one. Couldn't they have just left her with the Crusaders? Yuna did have responsibilities that had higher priorities to take care of. Lulu had notified them that even though Luna may or may not have been the Light of Yevon, she did have a great amount of power that she was going to help her harness, so as to not hinder their journey. Although, the villagers treated the preteen fairly and in kind, they didn't fully accept her. How could they when she was just another stranger in their world? And burdening their summoner in training, no less!

"Have you not been paying attention?" The tall busty female calmly fumed, a hard edge lacing her voice; this was the third time repeating herself. "Meditation is a form of discovering one's inner powers. When meditating, you must look within yourself for your source of energy. The size of power a person may have differs with everyone. In your mind it will usually be a colorless mass." On the first day that the youngling learned of this, she thought of the room she was in while dreaming; when she had first arrived. That was two days ago, and this was the third time Lulu had to explain it all again to her. But for all she was worth, she could not figure out how to get to that room while awake. The days before, she had been learning the different types of magic, and was happy to find that there was a type that was used to help others. White magic they called it here. But she was to learn black magic, in order to defend herself.

"One must understand that each spell has different properties to it and different feels. Often times they can be recognized by color. For example dark blue for water and light blue or white for ice. When pulling on that energy for a spell one must be absolutely sure what they want. For example, if I want to destroy that tree over there I know I need to use fire. In a sense you are telling that piece of magic what to be. The spell can be as strong as you want or as weak. Like using a fire spell to keep you warm in a cold place or to burn down blocks of ice. In the beginning, basic spells will be the only ones available, even if you do know more complicated spells. Th-"

"How come?" Luna asks, interrupting rather rudely, though unintentionally. The adolescence looked up to the much taller female with curiosity shining brightly within her eyes.

A look of annoyance flashed over the woman's face; taking in a deep calming breath, which in this case didn't really work. "Hmph. With all the patience you seem to have, you couldn't even let me finish…" Lulu murmured in disdain.

"Oh, I'm sorry…" the small female flushed, looking away in embarrassment. She couldn't help her inquisitive mind. She felt like she was currently in class, so asking questions was a no brainer for her. Although, maybe she should have raised her hand or something first…

"As I was saying…this is because, like physical stamina, it will wear you out faster when you first start out, because your body isn't used to the exertion. The only way to overcome this problem is through practice and use. The more you use it the more adept you will become at controlling it. As you go on you can use and create stronger spells and build on what you know. Magic is only limited to what you have stored within yourself, and will replenish over time. Some spells will hold out with the strength of your will and determination. For example if two black mages cast the same fire spell at each other (like a fireball), the one with more strength and will to succeed will win. If you had to cast a shield spell under a barrage of attacks the spell will hold as long as you are conscious. If you have to prolong a spell, it can take a hold of your physical self, and may cause death." She finished with an air of completion.

"Do you understand? Everyone has their limits. Of course there are a few people who have learned how to draw energies from the air around them, but it is only rare cases. Only a number of people who can are alive today because it is a complex sort of magic. One can not simply take the outside magic within you. You have to mold it on the outside rather than the inside; making it much harder since it is not your energy but nature's; the clashes of the two energies are not always compatible. It is much more unpredictable and often times self destructive." The well practice mage added in as a side note.

Luna looked contemplative. She loved nature; it was always a peaceful part of her life, and partially why she loved living in the country side more than in the city. Of course the cities had little parks crawling with greenery. But it wasn't the same, because of the different noises and smells. "Why is that?" The inquisitive adolescent stated eyes wide with the yearning of new knowledge. "I find nature to be rather calming and not at all unpredictable."

"You do not fully understand do you?" The black mage became slightly annoyed. "If you were to walk out of this town and encounter a wild animal, you can not expect it to become instant friends with you. It will either run away or attack you. Can you tell me which it will choose?"

"Um…well, animals usually attack when they feel threatened…"the young beginning magician trailed. "Then again depending on what side of the food chain they're in, we might be considered food and get attacked. But-" she lifted her hands as if weighing the options. "They could just run away because of the possible inability to protect their home…" Luna tilted her head, as if stating the obvious, "Right?"

A small vein seemed to pulse at the temporary teacher's brow. "Do they not teach you anything as you grow? While you do state a valid point, it does not plead your case. Not one person can tell you why the wind blows or why light shines. Nor can they predict the changing of the tides and the movements of the planet. One moment the sun may be lighting up the world, only to be shrouded by dark heavy clouds; when a moment ago there were barely puffs in the sky." Lulu sighed once more in annoyance. "If I had known you were going to be this difficult, I would have left you to the fiends instead!" Abruptly standing, she turned and walked off.

"W-wait! No, don't go! I'm sorry!" Luna cried in disdain. She hadn't meant to push the older woman's buttons so much. The taller female slowed at the apology and half turned towards the small girl. "This…This place is just so different from my home. Everything is so interesting and new that my curiosity tends to run away with me, sometimes…" her eyes lowered in shame and embarrassment. "Please? I promise to do my best and stop asking so many questions." She tried her hardest to appease the busty mage.

The well practiced magician seemed to pause as she took in the form of the young girl. Her small hands were fiddling with the ends of the pink hat she wore. Although, her hunched form signified her now subdued behavior, there was a shining hope settled in her eyes. Lulu let out a heavy breath. "Fine. If you can not master meditation or least tap into your magic by the end of the week that gives you three days, you will be given a more…'Hands on' training." If a calm mind does not work, then perhaps a 'fight or flight' situation might trigger her latent ability, thought the mage as she walked off towards their little hut.

This soothed the little female's distress. So she sat with her back against the stump of one of the many trees in the small clearing between two huts. Closing her eyes she let her mind wander, trying to sort her thoughts as she attempted to find her inner peace.

…

Luna let out a calming sigh. _Okay...clearing one's mind…empty, empty~ Hm, hmm…Lalala~! _A stray wind lightly kissed her warm skin, playfully tossing her hair about. With it, it carried the scent of the salty sea, fertile soil and fresh greens. Not to mention the wonderful smells of early lunch being made. _ Ahhh! The wind feels so nice today…the ocean smells so clean too! Much better than at home; where kids often tended to…pee in it. Oh! And the delicious smell of cooking food! Someone must be making a roast…it's really making my mouth water. A lot of the fruits and vegetable here are so similar to the ones back home…although some do have weird shapes and colors. Maybe I could cook something for the others too one day? They have been nice enough to take care of me…I wonder what kind of animals they eat here? They look like modified versions, like the dog thing with the two tails that walks around town. It was cute though. Gah! No wonder I haven't been able to master meditation! Always thinking about something…Goodness, focus…calm…_

…

She sat there for hours, constantly warring with herself and trying to clear her mind. So into her task, she didn't notice the arrival of another presence. The male stood in front of the oblivious female, clutching a tray with a plate of food and a wooden cup of water. He watched as her expressions seemed to flit from one to the other. From happy to frustrated, and sad to angry, it was a bit disconcerting, considering the fact that the young girl always seemed to have a bright smile plastered upon her features, despite the things that bothered her. Crouching, he placed the tray upon his knees and steadied it with one hand. Reaching over with the other he playfully ruffled her hair.

This shocked her out of her current position, thus causing her to stumble into the stump behind her as she stood and promptly fell on her derrière, while giving a cry of surprise. "G-Gatta?!" Her eyes were wide as she stared at the male softly chuckling at her expense.

The crusader gently smiled, "You still having a hard time, huh?" He placed the tray to the side, standing to help her up. "You weren't paying attention to your surroundings again." The male lightly reprimanded, handing her the tray after she had settled upon the stump. "If you keep doing that you might get jumped by a stray fiend and who knows what'll happen then? I may be a Crusader, but I'm still a rookie." Taking a seat next to her, he riffled her hair.

"Oh!" The young girl's eyes grew wide in fear. "Please don't tell Lulu! If she finds out I did it again, she'll scold me for sure!" Luna hated being scolded, and after the incident a couple days prior where she almost got jumped by that red flan thing, on their daily exploration. It looked like a Jell-O monster with glowing yellow eyes and a wide nasty grin on its face. If the black mage had not made quick work of it, she was sure to have some blistering burn wounds. The magician gave her such a verbal lashing afterward, that she didn't ever want it to happen again, if she could help it that is. She didn't quite understand how she didn't notice it though, because it had an immense dark energy around it, full of hate and malice, and overall bad feelings. The kind that she liked to avoid at all cost.

"Don't worry about it, I wont, promise" he gave her a silly smile, effectively dispelling the uneasy tension around them. "After you finish, we'll go to the temple and pray. Then it's off to familiarize you with the island more." He snagged a fruit off of her plate and slowly munched on it as they chatted. She would ask questions and he would answer to the best of his ability.

The two had created this routine after she had arrived; the praying and the exploring. They would always meet up with his Leader, Luzzu, or sometimes Wakka and Lulu, and so far only once with Kimarhi. On the journeys her guides would take her to places that the villagers often gathered fruits and vegetables; pointing out the ones that were edible and others that were poisonous. She was showed places that they sometimes hunted for meat, although they usually ate fish. On the days that they stopped at the beach, usually with Wakka and the other crusaders, she was allowed to take a swim in the sea. She didn't really swim just floated upon the shallow waves. She enjoyed it immensely, always feeling like new afterwards. At the end of the days, she and Yuna would stay up and have long talks about Spira and all of its wonders. Afterwards, would be another fitful night for the youngster. She hoped everyone was doing okay. It wasn't that she didn't trust that they could take care of themselves; her minds just always seemed to like creating possible worst case scenarios that put her on edge and cause her restlessness. She didn't quite believe in Yevon, but she supposed in this world, he or she was real. So when time came each day, she fervently prayed at the temple, hoping against all odds that her previous companions were all okay.

Oddly enough during the times she floated about in the sea, was when she felt the most at peace, despite her many worries. Letting the tide lull her into a daze, as the muted sounds of the ocean consumed her. Now that she thought about it, it was exactly like when she was in the room while she was sleeping! Well, her horoscope did say she was a of the water element, although, she didn't really believe in that kind of junk. Maybe she'll get a chance to do it again today, depending on if the other guide was Wakka or not. Hopefully, when she gets the chance to it'll bring results.

Sadly, the end of the week came about and she never got the chance to try out her theory, thus, making her fail in her mastery. She didn't blame the kind local man for her dilemma; it wasn't his fault, but hers for not trying hard enough. Wakka had been busy, training with his blitzball team for the upcoming game. She hadn't a clue of what it was; only that it was played in water with a strange lumpy ball.

…

Luna, still groggy from waking so early, couldn't help but wonder why she was up before dawn. An old worn book was thrust into her hands. It was fraying a bit at the edges but other than that it was well taken care of.

"This is a survival guide of the island. It will tell you all you need to know to survive in its wilderness." Lulu stated with an edge. Signifying that this was to be her life for the next few days, but the young girl didn't know what to do with it besides read its contents and commit it to memory. In a sharp tone the well practiced mage, said "Today you will journey outside of the village and live on your own, living off of the land, until sundown, where you will return to the village." The information seemed to slowly sink into the girl as the woman continued with the instructions. "While out, you may or may not encounter situations where you must 'Fight or Flight'. Hopefully, depending on the end results, you will trigger your magic. From now until you master you're first spell, you will leave at dawn and return at dusk."

Luna, thinking about the last time she had asked questions, cautiously queried. "Is it because it's more dangerous at night time?" She wasn't a fool to that, she could feel the dark energies rise around the village, but she wanted to make sure of the reason.

"That is correct. Also, during this time, you are to acquire food for your meals, drink, and shelter, if needed, this includes dinner." The magician implied. "When you return, Yuna will accompany you to the temple to pray, as usual. Then you will meet me here and we will go over vocabulary." The beginner let out a soft groan of misery. She hated English! "If you don't like it then you just have to deal with it. The lessons are to help you familiarize yourself with the elements." The taller woman lightly scolded as she walked over to a table at the back of the room; picking up a long thin object. It was longer than a wand but too short to be a staff. The handle was a dark brown, like the bark off of a tree. It was skinnier at the top and slightly wider at the bottom. Wrapped around this part was a green colored metal, forming what looked like vines, with some leaves scattered here and there. At the very top was an azure orb that swirled, pulsing with the energy of its user. The vines came to a stop at the base where they became leaves encasing the bottom of the sphere like a flower; which was exactly what the youngster thought it looked like, a budding flora. "This was her apprentice staff when she was younger. It helps to focus one's mind on the spell, and to channel one's energy." Lulu handed over the small staff made for children.

Upon taking a hold of the magical item, Luna could feel a slight stirring of something beneath her skin. It wasn't too big of a change, but it was something to take a note of. The feeling it gave her; she wasn't too sure whether it was a good one or not. A familiar feeling, yes, but not one she was accustomed to. It was like a breathe of fresh air after a dive (not that she was good at it mind you), or the rush of cool wind that accompanied the opening of a door on a warm day. A sort of refreshing feeling that was greatly energizing at the same time. The gem at the top changed from a calm swirling to an erratic pulsing of light, signifying the wild power within her.

"Now you may eat and then go. We don't want you to collapse on your first day because of hunger." The wizened mage advised, as she exited the small hut.

Lifting tired fingers up, Luna rubbed circles into her temple. Thinking of the long day ahead of her, she packed a few of the food things they left her for breakfast, including the canteen, drinking a bit and finishing off what was left or the food. Folding her bunny hat and scarf, she packed them in her bag also, and took out another hat. A worn, poufy, olive green newsboy cap was placed upon her head. The other items would get in her way and with this task, she didn't need that. Securing the mini staff to one of the fasteners upon her bag strap, she assured that everything she needed was packed away safely. She was intensely excited, yet very apprehensive at the same time. She would be going into the wilderness, in an unknown place, for the first time. _How hard could it possibly be?_

* * *

[Sora]

_Where was everybody? For such a supposedly sprawling place, it's surprisingly empty. Well, I did find that pretty big house in one of the alleyways, but there were only a pair a dogs living there. They looked really sad…did they lose their puppies? That would explain all of the space…but that many puppies?! Oh well, where were all the refugees the other towns people were talking about? The second and third districts were crawling with those shadow things! Were they hiding in their shops? That could be why most of them looked like they were open…but with the doors locked. _

Sora had just returned to the first district, after venturing through the other two and into the alleyway as well. Fighting his way through the mini masses of shadows that seemed to pop up everywhere was tedious, and exhausting. Sure he had gone tons of rounds with Riku, but this was a whole new level. The little creatures tended to surround him and sink into the ground at the most opportune moment and then attack from behind. It was hard to keep track of them all at once, but he was learning. Luckily enough, he hadn't had to use any of his potions. Once he got rid of the shadows, they dropped enough health balls, to keep him in good shape, although it didn't really help with his exhaustion. He had also accumulated a good amount of munny as well.

The first district was eerily quiet. Where had all the people he talked to gone? Taking a few steps he soon found out why. The little dark critters from before were once more rising out of the ground. "What? Those shadow things are here too!?" He cried out incredulously, as he prepared for the fight ahead. He ran around the area, making sure he got every last one of them. When all the creatures were gone, the villagers started to cautiously make their way outdoors again. It was good to see that the only reason why there seemed to be no people was because they were in hiding. _Maybe there's a way to clear out the other districts too? _ Finished with the task, Sora made his was back to Cid's shop. He trudged though the doors with his head hanging low. Collapsing upon the bench near the fireplace, he stared at the ceiling. _What do I do now? _

"Still haven't found them?" The man behind the counter voiced in sympathy. Sora could only groan in response; rolling over and pressing his face into the cushion. Cid rubbed the back of his head in uncertainty. He was unsure how to go about easing the worries of the youth. "C'mon Sora, keep your chin up! Try taking another look around town; never know what you might have missed." He continued in a placating tone. Getting up from his sprawled out position, Sora gave a small nod. He was still a bit tired, but going around town again didn't sound too bad_. I probably did miss a few places…_ With that, the normally energetic youth left.

"They'll come at you out of nowhere." A somewhat deep calm voice stated from behind.

Sora had just started making his was towards the steps in front of the accessory shop, only to turn sharply to the area where the voice had come. "What…? Who are you?" He asked as a figured appeared from around the far corner of the building. He was much taller than the boy, with longer locks of hair that spiked at the edges. They weren't too long but long enough that it touched the base of his neck. His hair was parted so that more bangs lay at an angle on the left side. His eyes were a similar blue to the younger male's and right down the middle was a slashed scar that ended just under his left eye. He wore a black jacket that ended a few inches above his waist that had a white furry collar and a red lion head symbol with a sort of cross shape connected to the bottom of it; the same symbol was worn around his neck in silver. Beneath the jacket lay a white shirt that was tucked into a pair of black pants, held together by a belt. Three more belts, two brown and on black, hung loosely around his hips in a criss-crossing fashion. Gloves adorned his hands, also black. Tied to his left arm were three thin brown belts.

"And they'll keep coming after you," the unknown male pointed to the key shaped weapon in Sora's hand. "As long as you continue to wield the Keyblade." The clearly older male raised the same hand he had used to point out the keyblade, to his temple; as if trying to rid himself of an oncoming headache. "But why?" His tone was disbelieving. "Why would it choose a kid like you?"

A steady ire was slowly rising within the youth. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Sora called out in disdain, readying his 'blade'.

The stranger shook his head. "Nevermind," the taller male toke firm even steps toward the boy, his hand reaching out. "Now let's see that Keyblade."

"What?" said Sora, a little agitated. He slid into his signature battle stance, with knees bent and both hands on the Keyblade, holding it to the side. "There's no way you're getting this!" He shouted defiantly.

The unfamiliar acquaintance seemed to pull a long thin sword out of thin air; lifting it and tapping the supposedly blunt side of the blade a few times against his back. The hilt looked more like a revolver handle than a traditional hilt; coming with the bullet wheel as well. "All right, then have it your way." He brought the blade down, slashing the air in front of him.

The tall male jumped high into the air, easily closing the distance between the two. Sora had little time to react as the stranger brought his blade down. Bringing the keyblade up, sparks flew as the boy was just in time to block the deadly strike to his head. _He's strong!_ A desperate shove had Sora deflecting the long blade to the side leaving the males back open for attack, as he stumbled forward. The boy was only able to get in two quick hits before the male recovered and slashed in an upward move. _Can this thing even hurt humans?_ Jumping away last minute Sora was able to avoid getting his chest cut open by the tip of the strange blade.

An orange light appeared near the stranger's hands and in an instant a burst of flame traveled the length of the sword hitting the boy squarely in the chest. Luckily the fire didn't burn through his clothes but it left the spot smoking; the shear impact of the ball of heat taking a toll on the young adventurer. _Magic?!_ Sora ran around the male trying to get a hit to his back once more. It was tricky because the experienced fighter rarely turned his back to him. The male in turn swung at the boy the moment he would get to close, blasting fire spells when he got the chance to. _Every time he jumps back he prepares to shoot another of those fireball things…_ This left the older male open for attack from all sides. _It's risky, but I think I can get a few good hits in the next time he uses that fire spell._ So Sora waited as patiently as he could, but because he was a rookie, and only had practice in play fights with his friends, received shallow cuts where he clumsily blocked blows to his torso.

Sora blocked another swipe made for his head, holding his Keyblade by both ends as the strange man added pressure, trying to break thought the defense. "This would be so much easier if you had just given the Keyblade to me." Voiced the tall male. _I have to do something! I'm just getting more tired… If I don't get on the offensive and somehow end the fight, I'll collapse! _

"Why? I don't even know who you ARE!" Ground out the youth through clenched teeth, enunciating the last word as he, in a reckless move, thrust his arms out, pushing the man away. Using the male's momentary shock, at the sudden strength, to quickly rush and strike against him, slashing as he jumped into the air and landing farther back. Sora huffed, the exertion was too much. He didn't get much rest from earlier.

"Uh!" the man groaned in pain as held his stomach, staggering backwards. He growled, straightening, as he prepared to fire off another set of fire spells.

_I can hurt him!_ A small hope filled him, seeing the opening. Sora rushed forward, hitting the man in the chest, effectively stopping the spell, and getting a few more good attacks in. "Ah!" the boy stumbled back as he received a gash to his chest in his efforts. Sora jumped back, keeping the stranger in sight, as he fumbled around in his pocket for the potion he had received; the pain was causing his vision to become black at the edges. _I need to get him farther away! Or I'll just get hit again! _Getting closer the his opponent, Sora waited till he attacked first, deflecting his blade to the side, he slashed upwards as he jumped over the man and got a few blows to the males backside before shoving him away as he jumped backwards. This gave the boy enough time to use the potion to heal a bit. _Haa…That feels better…_ his wound no longer hurt and a portion of his strength was returned to him. _I can defeat him!_

With the distance the unknown male readied another fire spell. Being the headstrong person he was, Sora plowed through, as the spell was fired. Bringing up his Keyblade at just the right time, Sora reflected the spell back to its caster; surprising said male.

Getting hit with his own spell was astounding; it hurt a lot, and combined with the next blows of the kid sent him to his knees.

_I...won…? I-I won!_ A wave of fatigue washed over Sora, making him dizzy and his focus, blurry. "Now…you're …gonna…" his vision kept blacking out. "…you're... gonna…ooohhh…" came out as a whisper as he fainted, falling backward onto the hard cobblestone ground.

The tall male stood once the boy had fallen. "Aw, you're slipping Leon." A playful female voice came from behind.

The stranger now known as Leon turned to look at the short female behind him. She had short chin length black hair that parted at the top more to the right, opposite to his own, held back a bit by a headband; the ties hang to the back of her head. A short yellow scarf was tied around her neck. The female wore a green tube top held up by two blue belts; one on each of her slim shoulders. Her arms had grey fishnet coverings leading to bright fingerless gloves that covered her hands, with dark brown straps at the wrist. Short pale yellow shorts clung to her waist; a blue belt hung loosely at her hips. Cream socks covered her legs, and a yellow pair of shoes completed her outfit. Leon turned to look at the boy who passed out.

"I went easy on him. It looks like things are worse than we thought. A _lot_ worse."

* * *

**A/N: I've got to say that this is the longest chapter so far...It really should have been posted a week ago, or well on 7/31. I got lazy.. and started playing games. And when i did type at one point my laptop shut down on me cause I forgot to plug it in...it ran out of battery. and when i hooked it back up, everything i typed was gone! TwT But i persevered and finally finished it! My copy on KH 3D helped motivate me and the wonderful commision Akimoto Tsubaki drew of Luna for me, and now imma crank out one more before i get to play it. SO EXCITED!**

**Lala~ hmm...let's see, for the dream sequence, if anyone was wondering, the little girl was named 'Usagi' for obvious reasons, ah, if you can already tell who that is. And also, if you have to ask why i chose 'Willis' for Riku's it's not because of digimon, although i do love the 'Willis' from there! xD Lols, j/k I know it doesnt really match him, but i wanted his name to have a good meaning and i know i need to read up on the meaning again but initially it was along the lines on protecting what he believed in no matter what. And those of you that have played KH:BBS (slight SPOILER WARNING for those of you who havent gotten to it yet) know that Riku wanted to leave the island to become stronger and protect his friends. most of the other names that meant that were all variations of William, and that's a little too common for me.**

**And with this I thank everyone who has been patiently waiting for this to come out.**

**Thanks everyone! ~hugs~**

**~Luna**


	13. Discontinued

A/N: Hey guys I know its against the rules to post Authors notes…but here it is! After some planning and multiple discussions with various people, I will be discontinuing this story. But I will be posting a similar one, containing the same general plotline as this one. But it'll run along the KH1 storyline, and the same name! xD I guess lols…It's like hmmm…."What if there were more than just Sora, Riku, and Kairi that journeyed across the worlds and helped save them?"

So a lot of the things I typed for here concerning Spira, and their dreams and whatnot will be posted on there as well. They will also be occasionally meeting The trio here and there, so it'll still be connected to KH. ^_^ I'm really excited for it!


End file.
